I think helium should be added to the game as a new resource which would create many new production chains and possible new or alternate recipes for many existing production chains.
Helium production primarily comes from natural gas wells (though some also comes from crude oil wells and the refining process). So, COI should add natural gas as a resource with well sites similar to crude oil. Natural gas then should be refined with the output being fuel gas, nitrogen, and helium. Though the best natural gas wells have over 90% methane, most of it becoming fuel gas, for helium production, wells with between 5 – 10% are considered commercially viable for the helium alone and so the in-game refining could have a ratio around 80% fuel gas 10% nitrogen, and 10% helium or something similar depending on balancing. This would not only allow for a source of helium but add a larger production source of fuel gas. (Possibly adding an option for gas to housing for heating…if weather becomes something more than just aesthetic. In exchange for a greater unity production).
Helium is mostly thought of for balloons an blimps but I’m not suggesting zeppelins be added to the game (as awesome as that would be), though if weather does become an important thing in the future adding a weather balloon station to get a forecast could be interesting, and later weather satellites for more accurate forecasts... anyway back to this suggestion, not starting a new one. Helium has many manufacturing uses beyond simply balloons. As it is a noble gas it does not react easily with the elements around it and so is used a lot in research. Because of this it could be added as a required resource for science pack 2 or 3 especially since refining technologies are unlocked after 1.
Another one of its interesting properties is its extremely low boiling point, -269°C and so liquid helium is used in cooling systems, a potential optional recipe for server cooling. In manufacturing though it is used in the machining process of metals and alloys as it reduces oxidation without reacting to high temperatures, and is also used in welding keeping the tools cooler and thus allowing for faster welding without damaging equipment, so it could be added as a production resource for maintenance and or construction parts along their production chain.
Helium is also used extensively in the medical industry and so could easily be added to many of the medical production chains in the game.
The largest major use for helium though is in the manufacturing of semiconductors, again as it is
an inert gas and so won’t react to any of the production processes, keeping the silicon cool and
allowing for the miniaturization of the semiconductors. Even with current microchip production taking many resources and being quite complex, I think it needs to have helium as it is an essential part of the production process of these chips. There is even a company out their making helium filled hard drives for use in data centers so an alternate recipe could be added to use helium to build server units.
With the release of update 3 and beyond space has began to be reached in COI and helium has its uses their as well. Again many delicate pieces of equipment from satellites to space station parts use helium in their production. Importantly many rockets use helium during launch as well, they use it to fill the void of the fuel tanks, pushing the fuel out and keeping pressure, again as it will not react to the fuel. So adding helium to many space recipes would also be possible such as the space probe and station parts. possibly just the composite core for simplification.
Before I bring this to a close with fusion reactors I should bring up the elephant in the room, which of course is getting more helium. This is actually a real world problem as helium only comes from gas and oil wells as a byproduct. As it is less dense than air it literally “floats” away to the outer atmosphere and is currently a non-renewable resource. though there have been proposals to create space craft that will scrape the upper atmosphere and exosphere for helium and return it to earth, something that could be added to the game. But as we currenlty dont have such a system of retreating lost helium there is extensive helium recycling throughout the industry to save as much of it as possible for future use. This is one of the areas where I see some complication to implementing helium to COI, as adding recycling to all these production chains specifically for helium does not seem worth it. So, to keep production in mid to late game either there would need to be off shore gas wells to bring in natural gas for refining or contracts specifically for helium. Another way to offset the use would be to make its resource cost minimal with only a few units cost per item produced.
And finally we get to fusion reactors! With the game going into the near future with asteroid capturing I think it only appropriate that it should add fusion reactors to the game. I think that the most likely candidate should be a tokamak reactor (AKA the forbidden plasma donut). For those who don’t know the specifics, a tokamak reactor uses electromagnets to confine and compress elements into plasma, feeding the plasma a continued fuel source, then using the heat of the plasma to, you guessed it, boil water. ...electricity has just been 200 years of finding out more technical ways of boiling water... Fusion reactors use one primary element as fuel to generate this plasma, hydrogen (though using heavier forms of hydrogen provide better reactions such as deuterium 2H or tritium 3H). Fusing it under intense pressure into helium. Part of the process though takes a large amount of power but will "theoretically" output more once fully running. The term scientific breakeven is used to describe a reactor that produces as much energy as it makes, sustaining itself. The term commercial breakeven is used to describe one that makes enough money on the extra energy production to fund the cost of running the reactor. The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in France is projected to produce 112 MW for every 50 MW it "consumes", though the ITER is experimental and has no plans to hook up turbines for electrical generation. Honestly fusion reactors are so fascinating and such a large subject they should be looked at independently from this helium post.
To close off, basically once fusion is unlocked and researched it can be used to turn hydrogen into helium, providing a “theoretically” unlimited renewable source for our factories late to end game. And in turn could put out high pressure steam for electricity generation. Again though, the fusion reactor should be looked at more intensely elsewhere.
Sources in no particular order:
https://gasprosolution.com/uses-of-helium/
https://rockymountainair.com/blog/heliums-role-for-semiconductor-production-in-the-digital-age/
https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/from-medicine-to-industrial-processes-exploring-the-many-uses-of-helium/38800/
https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/surprise-helium-applications-everything-you-need-to-know/32044/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium_production_in_the_United_States
https://blog.westerndigital.com/helium-hard-drives-explained/
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/fossil-fuels/helium-is-instrumental-in-semiconductor-manufacturing/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
https://air-source.com/blog/helium-and-aerospace-lifting-the-future-of-space-exploration/
https://asrc.gc.cuny.edu/headlines/2023/12/no-laughing-matter-recycling-helium-amid-a-global-shortage/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_energy_gain_factor