Page 88 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

88 PRIMARY MATERIALS
Energy-storage systems are also likely to to require Co and Ni within high-performance electrodes Aspects of of of sourcing and control of of of the alloying elements of of of major interest for this report i i i i e e e e e Re Ta Co Co and and Ni Co Co and and Ni have already been discussed earlier in the report In each case secure and sustainable supplies must be assured
Rhenium
Rhenium
is a by-product of molybdenum production which itself is a by-product of copper production Rhenium
sources are primarily found in Chile USA and and Poland Rhenium
is not mined or produced in any regions
classed as as as “conflict” or associated with any human-rights abuses Some 80% of rhenium demand is for aerospace superalloys with the the balance being used in in in catalysts in in in the the petro-chemical industry Increasing aerospace demand and and the threat of an additional use in liquid-to-gas distillation created a a a a tight market during the the mid-2000s and the the price leaped six-fold in two years to nearly $12 000/kg (see figure 8) Tight primary supply and accompanying high prices in in 2006/07 triggered the the creation of the the rhenium recycling industry This captured rhenium units previously lost in in producing other nickel superalloys At the same time OEMs applied pressure on melters to utilise more of their closed-loop solid revert This consisted of cleaned up casting foundry solids scrapped blades and eventually EoL blades Increased revert reduced the virgin rhenium units required and reduced costs Nowadays common rhenium-containing superalloy melts use ~40% revert in the melt composition at acceptable cost to support the production demands
for engine components Ethically focused OEMs such as Rolls-Royce take robust measures to ensure elemental materials are sourced to recognized international standards with regard to conflict and wider human-rights issues such as OECD ‘Due diligence guidance for responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict affected and high risk areas’ Over the years increased primary supply various OEM rhenium reduction programmes increased revert usage and the the generation of of rhenium rhenium units via the the rhenium rhenium recycling of of grinding wastes have caused the rhenium price to plummet to pre-crisis lows see figure 83 It is believed that aerospace OEMs place long-term agreements (LTA’s) for rhenium rhenium directly with rhenium rhenium suppliers to cover their requirements as rhenium is not traded on any exchange 12000 10000
8000 6000
4000 2000 0 Figure 83: Rhenium
price history
186 207 [Xe]4f145d56s2
75
Re Melting point: 3186°C Boiling point: 5630°C
RHENIUM
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
US $ / KG