Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Aerospace and defence and Cobalt

Cobalt is a small but essential ingredient of jet engine superalloys: aerospace used about 11.5 kt in 2025, a fraction of battery demand, yet about three quarters of mined cobalt comes from Congo, whose export quotas now set availability and price.

Aerospace and defence (industry) and Cobalt (commodity): 4 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Industry input

Physical flow · Strong · Cobalt to aerospace and defence

Cobalt strengthens nickel superalloys at high temperature and is the base of cobalt alloys for hot engine parts; the site rates it 5 of 5 on criticality for alloy suppliers and aero-engine makers.

  • 5 of 5 criticality for alloy suppliers and aero-engine makers
  • 51% of US cobalt use that went into superalloys, mainly jet engines, 2025
  • about 11.5 kt cobalt in aerospace superalloys worldwide, 2025

Superalloys make up over half of a jet engine's weight. Aerospace takes 58% of the about 20 kt of cobalt used in superalloys, which rose 7.5% in 2025 with higher defence spending.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • Specialty alloy, casting and forging suppliers: superalloys (criticality 5 of 5)
  • Aero-engine makers: superalloys (criticality 5 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; USGS; Benchmark Mineral Intelligence; GlobalSpec (Elsevier)

2. Congo supply and export quotas

Shared risk · Strong · Congo's policy sets cobalt availability

Most cobalt is mined in Congo (Kinshasa) and refined in China, so Congolese export rules move supply and price for every user, engine makers included.

  • about 73% Congo's share of world mine output, 2025
  • up to 96,600 t Congo's annual export quota, 2026 and 2027
  • $11.84 and $15 per lb average LME cobalt cash price, 2024 and 2025

Congo suspended exports on 22 February 2025 to address oversupply and low prices and replaced the ban with quotas from 16 October 2025; the IEA reports cobalt prices doubled over the past year. Engine makers need small tonnages, so they can usually pay a higher price, but alloy qualification makes switching suppliers slow.

Sources: USGS; IEA; IEA Policies database; IEA Policies database

3. Competes with batteries for supply

Substitution · Asymmetric · Batteries take most cobalt; aerospace is a small buyer

Electric vehicle batteries use several times more cobalt than superalloys, so battery demand and cathode chemistry shifts drive the price aerospace pays.

  • 43% EV batteries' share of cobalt demand, 2024
  • 8% superalloys' share of cobalt demand, 2024
  • over 200 kt world cobalt demand, 2024

The shift to cobalt-free iron phosphate batteries in China eases pressure on supply, which helps aerospace buyers, but a battery upswing or a Congolese supply cut lifts prices for all. USGS lists nickel-base alloys or ceramics as substitutes in jet engines, though changing an engine material needs long requalification.

Sources: Cobalt Institute; USGS

4. Indian defence self-reliance

Policy · High in India · Domestic superalloy making still needs imported cobalt

India mines no cobalt, so making aero-engine superalloys at home moves the dependence from finished alloy to raw cobalt imports.

  • 100% India's import dependence for cobalt, lithium and nickel minerals

In 2025 HAL ordered nickel and cobalt superalloys from MIDHANI for engines such as the AL-31FP that powers the Su-30MKI. The National Critical Mineral Mission, with ₹34,300 crore over seven years, and KABIL's search for overseas assets aim at the raw material side.

Sources: IDRW; Mongabay India; Angel One

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Aerospace is a small cobalt buyer, with superalloys about 8% of demand, so battery demand and Congolese policy drive its costs.
  2. Congo's export quotas of up to 96,600 t a year for 2026 and 2027 are now the main supply variable for cobalt.
  3. Superalloy cobalt demand rose 7.5% in 2025 on defence spending, a steadier stream than battery demand.

What to track

  • Congo cobalt export quotas and their use: Tighter quotas raise prices for all users (Monthly · Congo authorities; yearly · USGS)
  • LME and cathode cobalt prices: Feed into superalloy costs (Daily · LME)
  • Aero-engine deliveries and defence orders: Drive superalloy cobalt demand (Quarterly · engine maker results)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. India's full import dependence on cobalt exposes its defence engine programmes to Congolese export policy and Chinese refining.
  2. MIDHANI's 2025 superalloy order from HAL shows domestic alloying growing; secure cobalt supply or stocks for defence alloys would back it.
  3. Superalloy scrap from engine overhauls is a domestic cobalt source worth capturing as India's maintenance work grows.

What to track

  • Cobalt imports by source: Shows concentration of supply risk (Monthly · Ministry of Commerce trade data)
  • KABIL and National Critical Mineral Mission cobalt deals: Signal progress on raw material access (As announced · Ministry of Mines)

India

India depends fully on imported cobalt; in 2025 HAL ordered nickel and cobalt superalloys from MIDHANI for engines such as the Su-30MKI's AL-31FP.

Sources

  1. Aerospace and defence: materials, Material Insights (2026)
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Cobalt, USGS (2026)
  3. Superalloys are second largest demand driver for cobalt, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (2026)
  4. Cobalt factsheet, July 2025, Cobalt Institute (2025)
  5. Global EV Outlook 2026: electric vehicle batteries, IEA (2026)
  6. HAL's order with MIDHANI bolsters India's indigenous jet engine capabilities, IDRW (2025)
  7. India approves mission to bridge critical mineral gap in energy transition, Mongabay India (2025)
  8. Manufacturing technology for aerospace structural materials, chapter 6: superalloys, GlobalSpec (Elsevier)
  9. MIDHANI share price jumps after HAL superalloy order, Angel One (2025)
  10. Temporary suspension of cobalt export from the Democratic Republic of Congo, IEA Policies database (2025)
  11. DRC ARECOMS Decision No. 004/2025: cobalt quota system, IEA Policies database (2025)