Rhenium: Relationships

Every element and industry that Rhenium is linked to, and how. Each pair has its own card explaining the relationships between the two.

• Aerospace and defence: Rhenium is the few-per-cent addition that lets single-crystal turbine blades survive the hottest part of a jet engine; superalloys take about 80% of supply, but because mined rhenium comes only as a by-product of roasting molybdenum concentrates, world output of about 81 tonnes in 2025 cannot rise quickly when engine demand does. (researched)
• Molybdenum: Rhenium is caught from the gases given off when molybdenite concentrate is roasted, so its supply is fixed by molybdenum and copper output, while its demand comes from jet-engine superalloys that also use molybdenum. (researched)