21 October 2025

Hafnium: the zirconium by-product powering jets, chips and nuclear reactors

Key insights from this briefing

Why is hafnium supply difficult to expand quickly?

Hafnium is not normally mined on its own. It occurs with zirconium and is recovered during zirconium refining, at roughly one tonne of hafnium for every 50 tonnes of zirconium in the briefing. This by-product dependence makes supply relatively inelastic even when hafnium prices rise.

Why is hafnium strategically important?

Hafnium has high-value uses in aerospace superalloys, hafnium oxide in advanced microprocessors, and neutron-absorbing control rods in nuclear reactors. These applications combine strong technology demand with a supply chain that cannot be scaled independently.

Excerpt from this briefing's Industry Insight

Hafnium is chemically very similar to zirconium and is produced only in small quantities when zirconium is refined, roughly one tonne of hafnium for every fifty tonnes of zirconium. This by-product relationship makes supply inherently difficult to scale. Demand, however, comes from high-value applications: hafnium strengthens aerospace superalloys, hafnium oxide enables advanced semiconductor gate structures, and its neutron-absorbing properties make it useful in nuclear control systems. The mismatch between inflexible supply and specialised demand creates a strategic chokepoint.

This is an excerpt from the Industry Insight in the full Market Briefing. Log in to access the complete briefing.