ABSTRACT
We face unprecedented demand for materials essential for the development of clean energy technologies, but it’s important to understand the value chain of each energy metal in its entirety so as not to derail the deployment of technologies that will help achieve Net Zero sustainably and with the required urgency. Platinum is one of these critical materials, essential for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and other technologies like PEM electrolysers and fuel cell stationary power systems. Unlike many other critical metals, however, platinum is ready and available for this large new energy transition market, presenting a significant opportunity. It benefits from established and highly regulated mining supply, effective global recycling networks, and strong above-ground stock levels. Further, natural shifts in demand will mean that platinum availability can accommodate the scaling up of hydrogen technologies to mass production levels. We discuss how existing platinum supply levels could enable fuel cell vehicles to play a crucial role, alongside battery vehicles, in decarbonising road transportation. This will help to ease supply chain and other constraints on zero-emissions transportation and lower the overall mineral intensity of the energy transition.
Slide deck: The Platinum Whitepaper_Marge Ryan_July 2023
BIOGRAPHY
Marge Ryan is Industrial PGM Research and Strategy Manager at Johnson Matthey and a member of JM’s PGM Market Research group, who are global experts on platinum group metal supply and demand. She began her career as an engineer in the South African platinum mining industry, before emigrating to the UK in 2006. In 2011, she joined the team at Fuel Cell Today, an organisation that tracked key trends and developments in the then-nascent hydrogen and fuel cell industry. The knowledge gained from this was instrumental when she joined JM’s PGM Market Research group in 2014, taking on responsibility for forecasting the long-term PGM requirements of the global hydrogen economy, a function she still fulfils. Marge is also a member of a cross-functional team at JM that constructs long-term scenarios for how the energy transition will play out in key markets and is responsible for generating and communicating insights on the implications of the energy transition for the PGM markets.