Top Industries purchasing Rhenium (Re)
Rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust and possesses the third-highest melting point of any element.
Rhenium is considered a "single point of failure" mineral because there are no effective substitutes for it in high-pressure jet engines.
Major Individual Company Purchasers
Caution: This content was sourced and arranged by AI and thus may be subject to errors, biases, omissions, or antiquation.
This information can provide a general sense of industry dynamics, but may be unreliable in its specifics, or as an isolated basis for investment decisions.
Rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust and possesses the third-highest melting point of any element.
Rhenium is considered a "single point of failure" mineral because there are no effective substitutes for it in high-pressure jet engines.
| Rank | Industry | Volume (MT) | % Usage | Primary Applications |
| 1 | Aerospace (Jet Engines) | ~45.50 | 78.0% | Single-crystal superalloys for high-pressure turbine blades. |
| 2 | Petroleum Refining | ~8.75 | 15.0% | Platinum-Rhenium catalysts for high-octane lead-free gas. |
| 3 | Gas Turbine Power Gen | ~1.75 | 3.0% | Structural superalloys for land-based power turbines. |
| 4 | Defense & Missiles | ~0.85 | 1.5% | Rocket nozzles, re-entry shields, and supersonic ducting. |
| 5 | Medical & Pharmaceutical | ~0.30 | 0.5% | X-ray targets, heaters for mass spec, and Re-188 isotopes. |
| 6 | Electronics & Electrical | ~0.25 | 0.4% | Electrical contact points and ultra-thin filaments. |
| 7 | Scientific Instrumentation | ~0.20 | 0.3% | Thermocouples for ultra-high temps. |
| 8 | Semiconductors | ~0.15 | 0.2% | Heating elements for MOCVD and epitaxial growth. |
| 9 | Nuclear Energy | ~0.10 | 0.2% | Cladding for space nuclear reactors and heat pipes. |
| 10 | Chemical Synthesis | ~0.05 | 0.1% | Specialized catalysts for hydrogenation/oxidation. |
| 11 | Aerospace (Spacecraft) | Trace | <0.1% | Thruster components for satellites and deep-space probes. |
| 12 | Vacuum Technology | Trace | <0.1% | Filaments for ion gauges and electron beam evaporators. |
| 13 | Industrial Glass Mfg | Trace | <0.1% | High-temperature stirring rods and specialized electrodes. |
| 14 | Cryogenics | Trace | <0.1% | Low-temperature superconducting alloys. |
| 15 | Quantum Computing | Trace | <0.1% | Superconducting circuits and qubit housing research. |
| 16 | Jewelry (Electroplating) | Trace | <0.1% | Tarnish-resistant plating for high-end luxury pens/watches. |
| 17 | Automotive (Specialty) | Trace | Trace | High-performance spark plug electrodes. |
| 18 | Telecommunications | Trace | Trace | Signal relays in high-frequency satellite arrays. |
| 19 | Metallurgy (R&D) | Trace | Trace | Grain-refining additives for nickel and cobalt alloys. |
| 20 | Artificial Intelligence | Trace | Trace | Specialized sensors for high-heat data center hardware. |
Major Individual Company Purchasers
- GE Aerospace: The world's largest consumer of Rhenium. GE uses the metal in its LEAP and GE9X engines. They have a sophisticated internal recycling program (Project Re-Gen) to reclaim Rhenium from used turbine blades.
- Rolls-Royce Holdings: A massive purchaser for their "Trent" family of engines. They are a primary driver of the Rhenium market in Europe and have established long-term supply agreements with Chilean and Polish miners.
- Pratt & Whitney (RTX Corporation): Utilizes high-rhenium superalloys for military (F-35) and commercial (GTF) engines. They are a key partner with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency in Rhenium stockpiling.
- Honeywell International: Purchases Rhenium for both aerospace components and its UOP division, which manufactures the catalysts used by oil refineries worldwide to produce high-octane gasoline.
- BASF SE: A major global chemical purchaser that utilizes Rhenium in specialized catalysts for industrial chemical reactions and petroleum processing.
- Safran S.A.: The French aerospace giant is a primary purchaser for European defense and commercial aviation projects, focusing on high-temperature engine performance.
- Heraeus: A leading precious metals group that purchases Rhenium to manufacture high-purity salts, pellets, and wires for the medical and semiconductor industries.
- Siemens Energy: Purchases Rhenium alloys for land-based power turbines, which must withstand extreme heat for years of continuous operation.
Caution: This content was sourced and arranged by AI and thus may be subject to errors, biases, omissions, or antiquation.
This information can provide a general sense of industry dynamics, but may be unreliable in its specifics, or as an isolated basis for investment decisions.