For those of you that did not get the link that Peter emailed; here is a small extract.
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A muted supply outlook could help buoy platinum in the long term as major producers rationalise operations — Lonmin is one such producer that has been operating at a loss and has already announced plans to reduce CAPEX and cut 6,000 jobs. The group also recently announced that annual production over the next two years will be reduced by 100koz p.a.
In balance, academic research points to increased substitution away from platinum potentially eroding long term industrial demand prospects for the precious metal — Hollow platinum and nickel nanoparticles (10-9m) known as ‘artificial platinum’ is touted to be part of a wave of research to minimise the cost of integrating the precious metal in catalysts without sacrificing on performance. The US Department of Energy is spearheading alternatives for use in industry in a hope to boost the renewables energy sector. Matching the proton-donating ability of a nickel-based catalyst enables reactions to zip along efficiently. Hence, we view substitution as a threat to the platinum auto catalyst demand over a 5 year time horizon, especially as car manufacturers are incentivised to reduce platinum loadings by 2020. "
What wasn't said is that this research using hollow platinum and nickel nanoparticles to maximise the use of platinum has been going on for a number of years primarily to try and make fuel cells more affordable.
Personally, I hope the technology can be developed soon but there are still many hurdles. The development of fuel cells as a major source of "green energy" is only hampered by the high cost of platinum. The reduction of platinum needed in the catalyst would be a major break-through.
To date this technology is at an experimental stage and to suggest that it could be implemented over a 5 year time horizon is purely speculative. I remember reading that in 2009 an estimated 40% of the world's diesel engines had no catalytic converter and continued to emit toxic by-products like nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide!
"research shows how changing the catalyst’s superstructure, which contains the proton relays and wraps around the active site, can also increase the speed of the reaction. Led by Argonne National Lab’s Vojislav Stamenkovic and Berkeley Lab’s Peidong Yang, researchers created hollow platinum and nickel nanoparticles, a thousand times smaller in diameter than a human hair. The 12-sided particles split oxygen molecules into charged oxygen ions, a reaction that’s needed in fuel cells. The new catalyst is far more active and uses far less platinum than conventional platinum-carbon catalysts.
Building the catalysts begins with tiny structures made of platinum and nickel held in solution. Oxygen from the air dissolves into the liquid and selectively etches away some of the nickel atoms. The result is a hollow framework with a highly active platinum skin over the surface. The open design of the catalyst allows the oxygen to easily access the platinum. The new catalyst has a 36-fold increase in activity compared to traditional platinum–carbon catalysts. Further, the new hollow structure continues to work far longer in operating fuel cells than traditional catalysts"
The PGM's are the rarest group of metals on earth and yet it's been estimated that one fifth of everything we use either contains platinum or requires platinum in its manufacture and new uses are being constantly developed
