Heraeus Precious Metals and Sibanye-Stillwater are exploring the use of palladium in hydrogen applications, such as purification and conveyor cracking, to secure future precious metals demand streams.
Under the partnership, the duo will explore how existing and new applications can leverage platinum group metal (PGM) to develop alternative markets to palladium while supporting the hydrogen sector and technology developments.
They said palladium has “very high selectivity” for hydrogen and can be used in a range of applications.
Palladium is already used in the automotive sector in catalytic converters in internal combustion engines (ICEs). However, as demand for internal combustion engines (ICE) is expected to decline in line with global emissions targets, producers are looking to develop new demand streams.
The companies point to particular potential in hydrogen purification during blue hydrogen production, hydrogen carrier cracking and the semiconductor industry where high-purity hydrogen is needed as a process gas.
Heraeus will leverage its technical expertise and experience in scaling up and optimizing catalytic processes to support Sibanye as it seeks new markets for its PGM products.
While hybrid-powered vehicles are expected to support palladium demand in the medium term, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neil Froneman said that in the longer term, the PGM industry must “innovate and stabilize” the market.
“Together with Heraeus Precious Metals, we are investing in new technologies that leverage the unique properties of PGMs in line with our company’s goal of combating climate change and promoting industry sustainability,” added Froneman.
Dr Philip Walter, head of commercial hydrogen systems at Heraeus Precious Metals, said the company was “convinced” that hydrogen could power many applications, but it needed precious metals.
“When transferring technologies to scale, efficient and reliable operations are key,” he said. “This is the home of precious metals.”
PGMs already play a crucial role across various hydrogen technologies such as electrolysis, steam methane reforming (SMR), storage, and fuel cells. However, while their unique chemical properties make them indispensable in many applications, their cost and limited availability pose significant challenges.
Read more: Platinum – a critical enabler of hydrogen in the energy transition
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