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Who controls hafnium

Who controls the supply, and who depends on it?

France and the United States refined more than 90% of the world's hafnium in 2012 to 2016. Makers of jet engines, gas turbines, reactors and chips depend on it. The EU, the United States and the United Kingdom list hafnium as critical. Russia and China control exports.

Last updated 14 October 2026.

How concentrated supply is

Hafnium (processing), 2016

France 49%. Top three countries 96%. HHI at least 4,400, highly concentrated.1

HHI is the Herfindahl-Hirschman index: the sum of each country's squared percentage share. We compute it from the country table. We leave out the rest of the world, so the true value can be a little higher. In the 2023 US merger guidelines, above 1,800 is "highly concentrated". In older guidelines, 1,000 to 1,800 was "moderately concentrated". Those guidelines are for companies, not countries.2

Two countries made most of the world’s hafnium in 2012 to 2016. The European Commission gives France 49.3% and the United States 43.7% of world processing. Russia and China have 2.8% each, and Ukraine 1.4%1. Few companies make it. The European Commission names Areva in France, and ATI Wah Chang and Revert-Recycled in the United States, as the main producers in 2016. Together they had more than 90% of world supply3.

Supply also depends on one industry, the makers of nuclear-grade zirconium3 (see how much there is).

Who depends on it

Argus calls the aerospace industry the main buyer of hafnium4. Gas turbine makers, chip makers and nuclear reactor builders also use it (see uses).

USGS gives no figure for US net import reliance on hafnium5. By the USGS estimate, the United States imported 72 tonnes of unwrought hafnium in 20255. The EU is a net exporter of hafnium, because of French production1.

How governments treat it

List On the list
EU critical raw materials (2023) Yes 6
EU strategic raw materials (2023) No Hafnium is critical but not strategic in the EU lists of 2023. 6
US critical minerals (USGS, 2025) Yes 7
US critical materials for energy (DOE) No Not one of the DOE critical materials for energy. The DOE document also repeats the USGS list of critical minerals of 2022, which has hafnium. 8
UK critical minerals (2024) Yes 9
Canada critical minerals (2024) No Hafnium is not one of the 34. 10

Three governments list hafnium as critical:

  • The EU has hafnium on its list of critical raw materials of 20236. It is not on the EU list of strategic raw materials.
  • The United States has hafnium on its list of critical minerals of 20257.
  • The United Kingdom found hafnium critical in 20249.

Governments also control trade. Reuters reported in 2023 that Russia makes about 3% of the world’s hafnium. Without a Russian export license for this dual-use material, it does not reach most buyers11. Argus reported in 2025 that Western buyers had mostly stopped buying Russian hafnium since the war in Ukraine began12.

In 2023, a Chinese producer told Argus that exporters need a permit from China’s Ministry of Commerce. Foreign buyers must give an end-use statement13. China issued a list of dual-use items for export control in September 2024. After that, Argus reported long delays to hafnium export licenses, and some licenses were revoked12.

In October 2025, one trader told Argus that it had had no Chinese export license since October 2024. A second trader had received one in August 202514. The normal US tariff on unwrought hafnium is zero5. Imports from China had a higher rate. In 2022, Argus gave a 25% duty4. After new US tariffs on Chinese goods in 2025, Argus gave 79% in April 202512. Argus reported that China’s exports of hafnium to the United States fell sharply in April 202514.

Sources

  1. 1

    European Commission (M. Grohol and C. Veeh), 2023. Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU 2023: Final Report , Tables of end uses and of global supply shares at the processing stage (hafnium rows); text on EU processing.

    Shares of world processing and of uses of hafnium.

    • hafnium P France 49% ... 1.0% 49.3% 43.7% 2.8% 2.8% 1.4% 55.8%
    • hafnium P France 49% … 1.0% 49.3% 43.7% 2.8% 2.8% 1.4% 55.8%
    • EU is a net exporter of Hafnium and Indium
  2. 2

    U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, 2023. Merger Guidelines , Guideline 1, p. 5 and footnote 15.

    Defines the Herfindahl-Hirschman index; above 1,800 is highly concentrated. Footnote 15 gives the older band of 1,000 to 1,800 as moderately concentrated.

  3. 3

    European Commission (G.A. Blengini and others), 2020. Study on the EU's list of Critical Raw Materials (2020): Factsheets on Critical Raw Materials , Chapter 12, Hafnium (pp. 253-266).

    World production 2012-2016, producers, uses, recycling, prices, trade measures, the name.

    • Relevant producers in 2016 were Areva (France), ATI Wah Chang (U.S.) and Revert-Recycled (U.S.), together making up more than 90% of the global supply.
    • This implies a dependence of hafnium supply on the zirconium market
  4. 4

    Argus Media, 2022. Hafnium prices surge as supply concerns build .

    Hafnium prices in 2022, the industry estimate of world supply, producing countries, US duty on Chinese material.

    • the main demand base for hafnium … requires the metal to be in its purest form for superalloys
    • where imports from China are subject to a 25pc duty
  5. 5

    U.S. Geological Survey (Shelby N. Johnston), 2026. Zirconium and Hafnium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 , Pp. 1-2: production and use, salient statistics (hafnium rows), events, world production and reserves, resources, substitutes, footnote 6.

    Hafnium prices from 2021 to 2025, US trade in hafnium, import sources, recycling, substitutes, and the statement that world data are not available.

    • Net import reliance7 as a percentage of apparent … Hafnium … NA
    • Hafnium, unwrought … 23 … 43 … 72 … 64 … 72
    • Hafnium, unwrought, including powders … Free.
  6. 6

    European Commission, 2026. Critical raw materials , Fifth list 2023 of critical raw materials.

    The EU list of 34 critical raw materials (fifth list, 2023) and the strategic raw materials.

    • Bismuth Hafnium Niobium Titanium metal
    • Copper and nickel do not meet the CRM thresholds but are included on the CRM list as strategic raw materials
  7. 7

    U.S. Geological Survey (Federal Register vol. 90, no. 214), 2025. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals , Table 1 of the final list.

    The 60 minerals on the final 2025 US list of critical minerals.

    • Graphite ... Hafnium ... Holmium
    • Graphite … Hafnium … Holmium
  8. 8

    U.S. Department of Energy, 2023. Notice of Final Determination on 2023 DOE Critical Materials List (preprint) , Summary: critical materials for energy, and the USGS list of critical minerals.

    The US Department of Energy list of critical materials for energy, 2023.

    • Critical materials for energy: aluminum, cobalt, copper
  9. 9

    UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, British Geological Survey, 2024. UK 2024 Criticality Assessment , Table 1 (criticality results); appendix tables of end uses (Hafnium, SCRREEN 2023), end-of-life recycling rates (Hafnium) and the recycling indicator.

    The UK critical minerals list of 2024, with end uses and end-of-life recycling rates.

    • Hafnium (Hf) 3.5 4.6 4 Critical Not assessed
  10. 10

    Natural Resources Canada, 2024. Critical minerals: an opportunity for Canada .

    Canada's list of 34 critical minerals (2021, updated June 2024).

    • critical minerals list identifies 34 minerals and metals
  11. 11

    Reuters (Seher Dareen), republished by Kitco, 2023. Aerospace, electronic demand drive hafnium's 400% record surge .

    The price rise of 2022, traders' estimates of supply, Russian export licences, chip demand.

    • A small but significant 3% of hafnium is produced in Russia, but in the absence of an export licence from the Russian government for the dual-use material, it is out of reach for the larger market.
  12. 12

    Argus Media (Cristina Belda), 2025. Fresh concerns over the US' 80pc tariff on hafnium .

    The US tariff on hafnium from China in April 2025, Chinese export licences after September 2024, and the four producing countries.

    • western consumers have largely moved away from importing hafnium from Russia since the start of the Ukraine conflict
    • Since China issued an export control list for dual-use items in September 2024, there have been extensive delays to the export license approvals process for hafnium. A license was already required to export the metal, but over the past few months, these have taken longer to process and some have been revoked.
    • Hafnium now faces a 79pc tariff, up from 25pc, after multiple increases since Trump took office in January.
  13. 13

    Argus Media, 2023. Limited supply, higher demand bolster China's Hf prices .

    The record hafnium price of July 2023, Chinese supply, export permits and a plant stopped by environmental inspections.

    • as doing so requires a permit from the country’s ministry of commerce and international buyers must provide an end-use statement
  14. 14

    Argus Media (Cristina Belda), 2025. Hafnium approaches two-year high on fresh demand .

    Hafnium prices in October 2025, demand from chips and gas turbines, Chinese export licences, US imports from China in 2024.

    • One trader said it has not had a licence to export from China since October 2024.
    • A second trader, however, said it obtained a licence in August, so flows are not completely blocked.
    • But China’s exports to the US collapsed in April with import tariff hikes.