South Africa’s precious metals giants Sibanye-Stillwater and Valterra Platinum have partnered with industry body Johnson Matthey to bolster research and development in platinum group metals (PGMs).
Around 60% of global PGM supply is used in catalytic converters, used to minimise emissions from internal combustion engines (ICE), and South Africa is home to 80% of the world’s platinum.
Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Richard Stewart said the collaboration should successfully develop alternative industrial applications for PGMs and diversify its future demand.
“The focus will be on the entire basket of PGMs and developing a better supply and demand balance for the basket of metals,” he said.
The partnership looks to widen applications of PGMs beyond their current use, said the companies. It is a multimillion-pound, multi-year collaboration that will investigate technologies that rely on PGMs and their robust, circular supply chains.
Craig Miller, CEO of Valterra Platinum, said PGMs have extraordinary potential, and through this collaboration with JM and Sibanye-Stillwater “we can accelerate innovation that will better our world”.
By coming together, we’re able to create a unique ecosystem to explore opportunities where PGMs could provide more benefits and progress the technologies that best support the PGM industry and the global economy
— Liz Rowsell, Johnson Matthey chief technology officer
“This reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a sustainable pipeline of PGM-enabled technologies that will define the next era of demand.”
Valterra Platinum, previously Anglo American Platinum, is an independent producer after its demerger from parent company Anglo American.
The partnership comes as PGM producers have been riding the wave of high prices as a result of global trade wars and the EU’s U-turn on a plan that would have scraped ICE vehicles by 2035.
Liz Rowsell, chief technology officer at Johnson Matthey, said PGMs are critical to the modern economy so it’s important the industry becomes innovative and ambitious in the pursuit of new applications for the metals.
“By coming together, we’re able to create a unique ecosystem to explore opportunities where PGMs could provide more benefits and progress the technologies that best support the PGM industry and the global economy.”
Roswell said the collaboration is expected to expand with additional partners in the coming months. It will explore uses across many sectors including clean hydrogen, enhanced emissions detection and reduction across stationary and mobile sources.
It will also find new electronic materials, high-performance alloys and other advanced materials.
TimesLIVE
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