New catalyst tech may cut platinum use
Japan's Mazda Motor Corporation has confirmed it has developed a world-first catalyst for cars that uses single-nanotechnology to create a catalyst material structure that substantially reduces the amount of precious metals required, thereby reducing costs.
Platinum rallied to an all-time high of US1,553 an ounce on Wednesday and was trading at US1,550.50 by 11:15 on Thursday.
The autocatalyst sector continues to dominate platinum usage, and a cutting of its use by automotive manufacturers threaten to reduce demand, which could have a knock-on impact on the feverish expansion plans of the world's largest platinum producers including Anglo Platinum (AMS) and Impala Platinum (IMP).
Already automotive manufacturers have been substituting platinum's cheaper sister palladium in gasoline vehicles as they seek to cut input costs, and in July Mazda's rival Nissan Motor Company announced that it had developed a new catalyst for gasoline-powered cars that uses only half the precious metal components used in conventional catalysts.
The automotive industry uses platinum in cars' and trucks' catalytic converters to clean up exhaust fumes and limit emissions.
In its Platinum Group Metals Yearbook 2007, the CPM Group said even though the auto market had weakened in North America, sales and production of vehicles worldwide have been in stronger demand.
Rapidly industrialising nations such as China and India are also seeing increasing demand for autos, which in turn pushes the demand for the catalyst metal even higher.
Platinum use in auto catalysts has doubled in the past decade, from 2 million ounces in 1997 to 4 million ounces in 2006.
Precious metals analysts Johnson Matthey said in its Platinum 2007 Interim Review, which released in November, that platinum use in autocatalysts was forecast to rise by 2.3% to 4.24 million ounces in 2007 as global light-duty vehicle production exceeds 70 million units for the first time.
That means autocatalyst demand will represent 61.2% of total global demand of 6.93 million ounces in 2007.
"Demand is being boosted by an increase in the fitment of platinum-containing particulate filters to diesel cars, by rising after-treatment requirements in the global heavy-duty diesel market and by growth in Asian light-duty vehicle output," Johnson Matthey said in the report.
"These factors more than outweigh the effects of reducing platinum catalyst holdings, the continuing substitution of palladium for platinum on gasoline vehicles and further use of palladium in diesel autocatalysts," it said.
In the meantime, automotive manufacturers look set to find ways to further reduce the amount of the precious white metal in catalysts.
Just last month the World Gold Council said it had entered into an agreement with Nanostellar, a leading-edge developer of emission control technologies, to develop and introduce gold as a key element in diesel exhaust catalyst manufacture.
And while the gold price grew by 31.5% in 2007, at its new all-time high of US866.60 an ounce reached on Thursday, it is still 44% cheaper than platinum.
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