Titanium: Relationships
Every element and industry that Titanium is linked to, and how. Each pair has its own card explaining the relationships between the two.
- Aerospace and defence: Titanium is above all an aerospace metal: most titanium metal used in the US goes into aerospace, and it is about 15% of a Boeing 787's structure, yet sponge supply is concentrated in China, Japan, Russia and Kazakhstan, and the 2022 break with Russia showed how exposed airframers are. (researched)
- Aviation propulsion: Jet engines and airframes are the main market for titanium metal, using it for fan and compressor parts and highly loaded structures, and aerospace-grade supply is concentrated, with Russia's VSMPO-AVISMA still supplying about half of Airbus's needs. (researched)
- Titanium dioxide: Titanium dioxide pigment is the main use of titanium ore, so the white pigment market, not aircraft metal, largely sets the price of ilmenite and rutile. Pigment and metal share one step, titanium tetrachloride, and China leads both industries. (researched)
- Zirconium: Ilmenite, rutile and zircon are separated from the same heavy mineral sands, so titanium and zirconium supply come from the same mines and countries even though their end markets, white pigment and ceramics, are quite different. (researched)
- Chlorine: Their prices have moved together.
- Computers and electronics: Computers and electronics depends on titanium.
- Heat exchangers and pinch integration: Their prices have moved together.
- Medical devices: Medical devices depends on titanium.
- Metal products: Metal products depends on titanium.
- Paints and coatings: Titanium is a raw material for paints and coatings.
- Public administration, defence and security: Public administration, defence and security depends on titanium.
- Transport and logistics: Transport and logistics depends on titanium.
- Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft: Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft depends on titanium.