Why it matters
- Every modern jet engine uses rhenium superalloys, and airlines are ordering record numbers of planes.
- World production is under 60 tonnes a year.
- Added to the 2026 critical minerals watchlist as defense demand climbed.
Used in
Turbine bladesRocket nozzlesRefining catalystsThermocouples
Supply
By-product of copper and molybdenum mining in Chile, the United States, Poland, and Kazakhstan.
Demand
Aerospace superalloys and petroleum refining catalysts.
Role in the portfolio
Aerospace allocation. Tiny market, steady industrial buyers, and no substitute in hot-section blades.
Scorecard
Scarcity99
Industrial demand70
Supply concentration70
Liquidity15
Team view, not market data.