Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Aerospace and defence and Rhenium

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.

Aerospace and defence (industry) and Rhenium (commodity): 3 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Industry input

Physical flow · Strong · Rhenium to aerospace and defence

Rhenium in nickel single-crystal superalloys raises creep strength and fatigue resistance, so high-pressure turbine blades can run hotter for longer; the site rates it 5 of 5 for alloy suppliers and engine makers.

  • 5 of 5 criticality for alloy suppliers and aero-engine makers
  • about 80% share of rhenium use in superalloys, 2025
  • about 3% and 6% rhenium content of second- and third-generation single-crystal superalloys, by weight

Each generation of single-crystal alloy has added rhenium for higher creep resistance, at a rising cost. One high-pressure turbine blade needs about 0.5 ounce of rhenium.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • Specialty alloy, casting and forging suppliers: single-crystal turbine blades (criticality 5 of 5)
  • Aero-engine makers: turbine blades (criticality 5 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; USGS; University of Cambridge, Phase Transformations group; Reliable Plant

2. By-product of molybdenum roasting

Joint production · Strong · Rhenium output follows copper-molybdenum mining

Rhenium is recovered as a by-product when molybdenum concentrates, mostly from porphyry copper-molybdenum ores, are roasted, so its supply depends on those operations and not on aerospace demand.

  • about 81,000 kg world rhenium output, 2025
  • about 30,000 kg Chile's output, the largest, 2025
  • about 9,800 kg US output, 2025

World output rose only about 1% in 2025. Chile alone makes about 37% of the total, and US imports came mainly from Chile, Canada, Germany and Poland in 2021 to 2024, so a few roasting and refining sites carry the market.

Sources: USGS

3. Price spikes and thrifting

Cost and price · Medium · High prices push engine makers to use less rhenium

With fixed by-product supply and few substitutes in blades, rhenium prices swing sharply, and engine makers respond by recycling and designing alloys with less rhenium.

  • about $2,600/kg rhenium metal pellet price, 2025, up about 90% on 2024
  • about $2,300/kg catalytic-grade ammonium perrhenate price, 2025, up 78% on 2024

GE Aviation adopted a strategy of revert, recycle, recover and reduce, and developed a single-crystal alloy with second-generation properties using much less rhenium. Superalloy scrap, turbine blades and vanes are now recycled into rhenium metal, which softens future price spikes.

Sources: USGS; JOM (Fink et al.), via NASA ADS; Reliable Plant

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Superalloys take about 80% of rhenium, so aero-engine build rates are the main demand driver.
  2. Supply is a by-product of molybdenum roasting, about 81 t in 2025, so prices jump when demand rises: metal pellets rose about 90% in 2025.
  3. Engine makers thrift and recycle when prices are high, which caps long-run demand growth.

What to track

  • Rhenium metal pellet and APR prices: Rising prices signal tight supply and spur thrifting (Monthly · trade press; yearly · USGS)
  • Molybdenum roaster output in Chile and the US: Sets rhenium supply (Yearly · USGS)
  • Aero-engine deliveries: Drive new blade demand (Quarterly · engine maker results)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. Rhenium cannot be secured by opening a mine: access depends on molybdenum roasters fitted for rhenium recovery and on recycling.
  2. Collecting superalloy scrap and spent catalysts is the most practical domestic source for countries without molybdenum roasters.
  3. Defence engine programmes need small tonnages, so modest strategic stocks can cover price spikes.

What to track

  • Rhenium import sources and volumes: Shows dependence on a few suppliers (Yearly · trade data and USGS)
  • Recovery from superalloy scrap and spent catalysts: Measures secondary supply (Yearly · industry reports)

Sources

  1. Aerospace and defence: materials, Material Insights (2026)
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Rhenium, USGS (2026)
  3. 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation single-crystal nickel based superalloys, University of Cambridge, Phase Transformations group
  4. Rhenium reduction: alloy design using an economically strategic element, JOM (Fink et al.), via NASA ADS (2010)
  5. GE engineering ways to reduce rare metal rhenium in jets, Reliable Plant