The U.S. is going to the moon for a resource Canada has at scale

Chris Cassin: Stockpiling helium-3 could give us a bargaining chip in trade talks, but we aren't doing itThis spring, NASA paid Seattle-based startup Interlune US$6.9 million to build hardware that will fly to the moon, dig up lunar soil, heat it and collect data to determine concentrations of helium-3 so they can extract it. Interlune has already lined up close to half a billion dollars in binding purchase orders from quantum companies and United States government agencies.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Canada doesn’t need to fly to the moon for helium-3. We can drive to Darlington, just outside of Toronto. But Canada is not yet using this incredibly rare resource as the strategic asset it is — leaving millions of dollars on the table and squandering trade-negotiation leverage.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInterested in more newsletters? Browse here.Canada makes helium-3 today as a byproduct of CANDU nuclear power generation, while other nations in the quantum race, such as the U.S., Russia and China, produce it as a byproduct of maintaining nuclear warheads. Since CANDU reactors generate helium-3 in a way other types of nuclear power do not, Canada is a reliable non-military producer of this important and much sought-after isotope at scale.If we protect it and stockpile it, we can build a powerful quantum technologies supply chain, create an economic juggernaut and stake out a stronger position in Canada’s trade negotiations.It is only when party-balloon helium (helium-4) and helium-3 are mixed together and undergo a process called dilution in their liquid state that we create the ultra-cold conditions in which quantum bits, or qubits, operate in — just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, colder than the coldest part of outer space.The realization of quantum states is fundamentally a battle against thermal noise, and therefore most quantum technologies require sub-kelvin temperatures. That means cryogenic infrastructure is part of the hardware stack in quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum communications — the next frontier of the digital world.The quantum technologies industry is already worth billions of dollars and it’s driving defence technology advancements. Helium-3 is also used in border security as the neutron-detecting material in large detectors that screen vehicles and cargo for any nuclear or radiological material.Its important uses and rarity put the current price of helium-3 at over US$3,000 per litre and climbing.That’s why the U.S. treats helium-3 as a strategic material and manages its limited supply through the Department of Energy.But Canada’s government is still treating helium-3 like a worthless byproduct to be exported. We don’t protect it, prioritize Canadian buyers or even keep much — if any — in Canada once it’s produced.With the U.S. levying tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Canadian goods, and CUSMA under review, Canada is looking for leverage. Because we don’t have a strategic reserve, helium-3 is a bargaining chip we can’t use in trade negotiations. It’s a clutch player we’re leaving on the bench.Let’s be clear about the potential being left on the sidelines. Global investment in quantum technology has surpassed US$50 billion. Canada has already put $334.3 million behind its own Canadian Quantum Champions Program, with a commitment to expand that, and invested hundreds of millions more in quantum research and projects.A domestic facility to purify, store and distribute Canadian helium-3 would de-risk those investments. It would also support new jobs, including skilled trades jobs like welding and specialized positions in advanced engineering. On top of that, a strategic helium-3 stockpile would bring in millions of dollars in sales.Canada already knows how to do this. We treat nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earths as strategic resources because we understand that other countries need them and that access to them is valuable at both the negotiating table and the cash register.Canada can designate helium-3 a critical strategic resource right now.Ottawa can build a strategic reserve and establish a framework that gives Canadian researchers, defence programs and companies reliable access to Canadian-produced helium-3, with surplus supply available for export.We already produce it and capture it. What’s missing is a commitment to treat what we have here on Earth as the strategic asset it is.Chris Cassin is the chief executive of Zero Point Cryogenics.Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. 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