Element Dossier

Tungsten (W)

Tungsten is used in dense materials, high-temperature systems, tooling, defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

Critical
Selected Element

Tungsten

Symbol: W · Atomic Number: 74 · Transition metal

W
Critical

Tungsten is used in dense materials, high-temperature systems, tooling, defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

Overall
86/100
Confidence
Medium
Updated
2026-06

Element Scorecard

Modeled intelligence scores. Source-backed methodology.

86
High
Civilization Impact79/100
Supply-Chain Risk89/100
Strategic Value90/100
Substitution Difficulty87/100
Future Relevance83/100

Industry Exposure

Industries and applications connected to Tungsten.

Industries

DefenseAerospaceAdvanced ManufacturingEnergy

Key Uses

  • Dense alloys
  • Cutting tools
  • High-temperature parts
  • Defense systems

Supply Chain Flow: Tungsten

Simplified intelligence flow for source, processing, refining, manufacturing, and end use.

Source
  • China
  • Vietnam
  • Russia
Processing
  • China
Refining
  • China
  • Europe
Manufacturing
  • Global
End Use
  • Tooling
  • Defense
  • Aerospace
  • Industrial systems

Substitution Analysis

Dense materials
High
Depleted uranium or other heavy alloys

Regulatory, performance, and handling tradeoffs

Scoring Reasoning

Defense relevance, high-temperature use, and concentration risk drive critical status.

Confidence: MediumLast updated: 2026-06

Sources

Public source base used for modeled intelligence scoring.