Rhenium Prices
The current price of Rhenium is $3,773.60 per kg.
Please note that the price provided is the retail price for private investors and is aligned with industry retail pricing. For bulk purchases, whether investment or industry, please contact us for a quotation.
Table: Rhenium Historical Prices and Price Changes
| Date | Rhenium Price | Change % to Today | Annual Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 2025 | $3,773.60 / kg | ||
| Jan 1 2025 | $2,485.90 / kg | +51.80% | |
| Jan 1 2024 | $1,995.00 / kg | +89.15% | +23.36% |
| Jan 1 2023 | $1,606.60 / kg | +134.88% | +24.18% |
| Jan 1 2022 | $1,730.10 / kg | +118.11% | -7.14% |
| Jan 1 2021 | $1,405.00 / kg | +168.58% | +23.14% |
| Jan 1 2020 | $1,711.50 / kg | +120.48% | -17.91% |
| Jan 1 2019 | $1,869.32 / kg | +101.87% | -8.44% |
| Jan 1 2018 | $2,118.90 / kg | +78.09% | -11.78% |
Rhenium Historical Price Movement
At today’s price of $3,773.60 per kg, rhenium has changed +51.80% since the start of 2025. It gained +89.15% since the start of last year and is up +134.88% since Jan 2023.
This strategic metal is up +168.58% compared to its price of $1,405 per kg on Jan 1st 2021. If we go back more years to Jan 1st 2018, when the cost of rhenium was $2,118.90 per kg, then the change is +78.09%.
Rhenium is an extremely rare and dense chemical element with atomic number 75, which makes it a part of the transitional metals group. It has a silver-grey appearance and melts at an incredibly high temperature of 3,186 degrees Celsius / 5,767 Fahrenheit.
Let’s look at the various uses of rhenium and who produces it first in order to make an educated forecast on its future price (or click here to jump to the rhenium forecast).
Rhenium Uses
Its unique features have caused rhenium to be used in many different areas, from military and aerospace technology to medical research. Its high melting point and strength make rhenium ideal (and un-substitutable!) for use in jet and rocket engines, wind turbine blades, and combustion chambers. It is often added to tungsten-based alloys to make them even stronger, and these “super-alloys” contain about 6% of rhenium.
Its softness allows rhenium to be used in electronic components such as electrodes and contacts. In medical research, rhenium is used as a radiopaque agent to more easily identify tumors or other lesions in CT scans and for localized cancer therapy.
In addition, rhenium plays an essential role as an additive in catalysts for more efficient fuel combustion in power plants and oil refineries. It does have several other industrial uses, such as lamps for cinema projectors.
With more research about rhenium occurring every day, no doubt there will be new future applications for this powerful element.
Where is Rhenium Produced?
Rhenium is the rarest element naturally occurring in the earth’s crust, estimated to be found naturally in less than one part per billion. It must be extracted from ores, and approximately 80% of rhenium is mined from porphyry molybdenum deposits containing 0.001% to 0.2% rhenium.
Commercially speaking, rhenium is rare and expensive because it can be challenging to extract the rhenium from its ore form. The primary global producers are Chile, the US, Poland, China, and Russia. Annually, only about 40-50 tons (80,000- 100,000 lb) of rhenium is produced, and most of it comes from Chilean ores. An additional 25 tons of supply per year comes from scrap and recycling.
What Factors Determine the Price of Rhenium?
The cost of this invaluable asset is determined by shifting market conditions, where the availability and demand for it plays a crucial role.
So if the demand for items that require rhenium, like rocket engines or wind turbine blades, rises, so too does the need for this unique and elusive metal.
Being the rarest naturally occurring element, rhenium is always extracted from ores, and the costly extraction process constrains the supply. China’s export policies don’t impact the supply chain like they do with rare earths and several other strategic metals. While they’re the 4th largest producer in the world, their production is destined for their domestic consumption, and the Western world doesn’t rely on their output of rhenium.
Rhenium Price Forecast
Current Price Snapshot
As of September 2025, rhenium is trading at a remarkable +51% increase since January 1, 2025, and an impressive +89 % jump from January 1, 2024.
What’s Fueling the Ascent?
Sky-high demand from China’s aviation expansion: State-backed growth in aircraft manufacturing has pushed demand for rhenium alloys—critical components in jet engines—to new highs, straining supply even further.
A tight supply base: With global production stuck at around 62 tonnes annually, minor shifts in demand ripple significantly through the market. Chile, as the world’s leading copper producer, plays a central role in this equation: rhenium is recovered as a by-product of molybdenum extraction during copper mining, making Chile a critical gatekeeper of supply.
Critical reclassification in the U.S.: The US Geological Survey has reintroduced rhenium to its list of critical minerals
- Deficit intensifying recycling efforts: The market is grappling with a persistent supply deficit that even expanded recycling efforts cannot offset
- Market driven by fundamentals, not speculation: Unlike other metals, rhenium trades mostly via term contracts with small spot volumes—meaning prices are grounded in genuine demand shifts, not volatile investor behavior.
A Metal With an Unusual Track Record
Rhenium’s price history makes its current rally stand out even more. Between the start of the 2010s and 2023, it was the only one of our strategic metals to experience a sustained decline. That downward trend was largely driven by muted demand from catalyst markets and steady by-product supply out of Chile. Many assumed rhenium’s star had faded.
Today, the picture looks radically different. China’s state-subsidised aviation industry, Western aerospace giants forecasting tens of thousands of new aircraft, and the absence of any viable substitute in turbine alloys have catapulted rhenium back into the spotlight. This turnaround underscores just how vulnerable the market is when demand spikes in a sector with no alternatives.
Forecast: Where It’s Headed
Looking ahead, global rhenium demand is forecast to rise steadily through 2034, reaching nearly $1 billion in market value. Analysts expect a CAGR of roughly 4.8% through the next decade, with aerospace and defense remaining the backbone of consumption. Specialty applications—such as additive manufacturing, catalysts, and advanced medical devices—are also expected to expand.
Strategic Takeaways
Rhenium’s price momentum is firmly rooted in aerospace demand—substitution is not an option, and production isn’t ramping up quickly enough.
Strategic moves by governments highlight rhenium’s importance—with Washington already acting and Brussels likely to follow.
Supply constraints aren’t easing, and even improved recycling and secondary recovery won’t keep pace with the forecasted demand curve.
Markets are splitting between immediate high-pressure demand (aviation, defense, tech) and longer-term steady growth in broader applications like catalysts and electronics.
How to Buy Rhenium
With its high melting point and impressive mechanical properties, rhenium is a coveted material in many industries. To ensure they get the best quality available, major corporate buyers such as Boeing, Airbus, and NASA tend to rely on renowned metal dealers who are able to source industry-grade rhenium of 99.9% purity or higher.
By guaranteeing product provenance, these so-called ‘key intermediaries’ also make it possible for global companies to access hard-to-find rare earth elements quickly and safely – something not achievable by buying online through less reputable channels like Amazon or Alibaba.
Rhenium should only be purchased from trusted sources that can deliver certifiable levels of quality control; otherwise, the metal can only be liquidated to hobbyists. We’re the only globally licensed industry supplier offering private investors the option to purchase and safely store industry-grade rhenium. Hence any discerning investor who wants to own some and benefit from potential future price increases can do this safely with us.
Rhenium futures contracts are also traded on the Shanghai Metal Market (SMM).
How to Sell Rhenium
If you have some rhenium at home, you should be able to sell it to other hobbyists via online marketplaces like eBay, Alibaba, and Amazon. The price you get will depend on what they offer, but it won’t be anywhere near the market price.
When it comes to selling industrial-grade rhenium, buyers like Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, and Boeing require more than just a secure transaction. To ensure that only quality materials are circulated in their production processes, they source their supply from trustworthy suppliers who can present documentary evidence of how each metal has been managed since its production – known as the chain of custody. That’s why they don’t shop on eBay.
Our investors can be confident that the liquidation of their strategic metals to industry buyers is secure and swift, as we are such a trusted industry supplier.
All prices on this page last updated Sep 12 2025.