![]() What about demand for platinum in the longer term? However new, low-PGM PEM catalysts are already being tested at the laboratory stage, Bergsmark adds.Īnd California start-up H2U Technologies says it has successfully demonstrated an iridium-free PEM electrolyser. Rystad estimated in a February press release that PEM electrolysers would have to reduce PGM use by 70-80% in the long term or be prohibitively expensive due to the increasing cost of their iridium and platinum-coated catalyst membranes. While manufacturers are working to reduce the content of this metal, “the question is how the performance efficiency of electrolysers will be compromised”, Bergsmark says, noting that buyers might end up opting for alkaline alternatives, which only use steel and nickel, or otherwise factor lower efficiencies into project design by increasing renewable energy input. ![]() She anticipates that there could be an iridium supply shortage as PEM electrolysers scale up in the late 2020s. Troubled hydrogen electrolyser maker ITM expands factory space by 62% in bid to 'debottleneck' production Lein Mann Bergsmark, a senior supply chains analyst at Rystad, says that while “platinum demand is generally very small as part of the overall market”, this is not the case for iridium. ![]() “Demand is forecast to double again over the next 18-24 months, as major market participants add production capacity for PEM electrolysers.” Johnson Matthey stated in its report that “iridium demand in water electrolysis was virtually non-existent prior to 2020, but has climbed steeply over the last three years, to an estimated 10,000oz in 2022. “The installed electrolyser capacity is doubling every two years and the number of planned electrolyser capacity additions is also doubling every two years,” Edward Sterck, director of research at WPIC, tells Hydrogen Insight. The analyst says - in contrast to ITM’s assertion - that PEM electrolysers require about 700g (24.7 ounces) of iridium per megawatt.Ĭheaper hydrogen? | US start-up demonstrates iridium-free PEM stack that will 'nearly halve' cost of electrolysersĪt today’s price of $4,600 per ounce, that amounts to $113,620 per megawatt, and Rystad says iridium accounts for 8.1% of the cost of a PEM electrolyser.Ī Johnson Matthey quarterly platinum group metals market report published earlier this month describes supply as “relatively price inelastic” since the metal is only produced as a by-product of other minerals, with data indicating it has maintained current prices since January.īut if demand for iridium grows faster than the supply, prices will inevitably rise. Rystad tells Hydrogen Insight that iridium - which is even rarer and more expensive than platinum - is more likely to drive prices up the cost of electrolysers. There could be a bigger impact on platinum prices in the future, however, when demand for platinum from electrolysers and fuel cells is far higher ( see below). However, recycling will only get ITM so far, seeing as it plans to expand sales of PEM electrolysers exponentially over the coming years. We also recycle all of our stacks too - so it becomes a closed loop.” “We have spent 23 years engineering the cost out and continue to do so. ![]() “In terms of platinum PGM supply we have no concerns,” a spokesperson for British PEM electrolyser manufacturer ITM Power tells Hydrogen Insight, adding that the company has already met an EU target to reduce the amount of these precious metals in electrolysers down to 400g (14.1oz) per MW. China's PEM push | US-Chinese joint venture's hydrogen electrolyser gigafactory starts production in Guangdong
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