UNSPSC 12142113: Liquid helium

Liquid helium is a cryogenic fluid, helium in a liquid state at an extremely low temperature.

UNSPSC 12142113 Liquid helium (Commodity) covers specialty cryogenic and industrial gas supply to state and local facilities. The recent state and local opportunities solicited under this code show that governments are actually purchasing a mix of industrial gases—liquid oxygen, liquid helium, liquid nitrogen, and argon—in both bulk and cylinder formats, along with associated delivery, tank rental, inspection, and maintenance services. The code's nominal scope (liquid helium alone) does not match the full range of work being procured; state and local buyers treat helium, nitrogen, argon, and oxygen as a bundled commodity category when establishing multi-year supply contracts for laboratories, water treatment plants, wastewater facilities, and emergency management operations. Issuing bodies include state environmental and procurement offices, municipal water and wastewater utilities, county institutes and forensic services, and state universities. Illinois appears as a repeat buyer, with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Illinois Central Management Services issuing multiple solicitations for laboratory and operational gas supply since June 2026.

Recent activity clusters in Illinois, California, Florida, and Texas. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has posted three separate solicitations for argon, helium, and nitrogen gases since June 2026 (IFB 26-532EPA-LAB53-B-52729, due July 2, 2026; IFB 27-532EPA-LAB53-B-53314, due July 30, 2026; and IFB 27-532EPA-LAB53-B-53761, due September 10, 2026), with five-year terms and domestic product preference requirements. The State of Illinois Central Management Services extended a Joint Purchase Master Contract for oxygen cylinder tanks and rentals twice (June 2026 and September 2026). The City of Sanford, Florida issued an IFB for bulk liquid oxygen delivery to its Water Treatment Plant (response due April 9, 2026). The University of Georgia posted an RFQ for helium, nitrogen, and dry ice (quotes due August 15, 2026). The State of California issued an RFB for monthly gas tank services including helium supply (due September 9, 2026). The County of Santa Clara requested bids for medical gas inspection, certification, and maintenance services (ITB-PRC-FY26-0636, due October 7, 2026), which involves helium and other medical gases but is not a direct supply contract. Contracts typically run two to five years with multi-vendor awards common; pricing is often estimated with adjustments tied to the Consumer Price Index or manufacturer price lists, and most solicitations require FOB destination delivery within two business days of order placement.