Avanti Helium says civil construction at its Sweetgrass Helium Project in Montana is substantially complete. The update came October 26, three days after the U.S. Department of Energy formally designated helium a critical material.
The processing building is now under construction, and the next phase is assembling the plant itself.
Site Work, Mostly Wrapped:
Civil construction and site prep are substantially complete.
The processing building is expected to be done in early November 2026.
Gathering pipelines from the WNG 11-22 and WNG 10-21 wells to the plant are complete.
The inlet separator is scheduled to ship to site the first week of November.
Major helium recovery unit (HRU) components are scheduled to ship to site in the coming weeks.
Building While Buying: Avanti says it has advanced infrastructure work and equipment procurement in parallel. That way, construction can roll into installation as the site and building are ready.
Once the equipment arrives and the building is ready, Avanti and Quantum Technology, which designed and fabricated the plant, will assemble it. That means setting major processing components, tying in piping and mechanical systems, and finishing electrical and instrumentation work before testing and commissioning.
Washington Takes a Deep Breath: Per Avanti, the DOE decision reflects helium’s importance to industries like semiconductors, medical imaging and aerospace. It also reflects the risk that global helium supply chains could be disrupted.
The company says the designation creates additional federal financing and support opportunities for domestic helium development.
CEO Chris Bakker’s take: helium is “not simply another industrial gas.”
Watch for the building wrap-up and equipment deliveries in the coming weeks. Until the plant is running, hold off on ordering the celebration balloons.
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