The platinum used in Bosch's new fuel cell
According to reports, Bosch, the global auto supplier, expects platinum to play only a “secondary role” in its new fuel cell. It seems that even if fuel cell technology develops rapidly in the pollution-free transportation sector, it will not give the precious metal market. How much benefit does it bring.
According to Reuters calculations, the platinum used in Bosch's new fuel cell will be one-tenth that of platinum used in existing fuel cell vehicles.
Analysts say that the recovery in platinum demand and prices is increasingly dependent on whether fuel cells will be widely used in cars, ships and trains, as platinum use is declining for each device.
In the past five years, platinum spot prices have fallen by more than 40% due to continued oversupply, but have rebounded slightly in recent months. But Bosch said it will reduce the use of platinum in its mass-produced fuel cells.
In April this year, private company Bosch signed an agreement with the Swedish company Powercell to cooperate in the mass production of fuel cells. Bosch said that the current fuel cell design has not been completed, but its platinum usage is expected to be equivalent to the platinum use of diesel catalytic converters. Analysts say that catalytic converters for diesel passenger cars typically use between 3 and 7 grams of platinum, while fuel cells use about 30 to 60 grams of platinum.
Bosch declined to disclose the expected platinum usage of the S3 fuel cell system. The S3 fuel cell system will be developed by Bosch and Powercell and is expected to be launched in 2022.
As governments have introduced strict emission regulations, fuel cell technology is expected to be more widely promoted and China plans to launch 2 million fuel cell vehicles by 2030.
Fuel cells use hydrogen as a fuel and platinum as a catalyst to generate electricity through chemical reactions. Although they are longer than batteries, their current market share in electric vehicles (EV) is still small.
Over the years, fuel cells are expected to boost demand for platinum, but scientists have found ways to cut platinum use in fuel cells.
The best-selling fuel cell model is Toyota Mirai, which is expected to cut the platinum content by two-thirds from the current 30 grams to around 10 grams, and Toyota declined to comment.
Hyundai Motor Co launched the latest version of the NEXO last year. A spokesperson for the company said the platinum content of the fuel cell has been reduced from the previous 78 grams to 56 grams. Moreover, Hyundai plans to invest 6 billion euros to produce 700,000 sets of fuel cell systems by 2030.
The fuel cell allows the electric car to have a longer cruising range, and charging takes only a few minutes, which is a fraction of the time it takes to charge the battery. Nissan's best-selling battery electric vehicle, the Leaf, has a cruising range of 226 miles, while the modern NEXO has a cruising range of 380 miles. Therefore, the early major markets for fuel cells are expected to be heavy trucks and buses.
This article is from Allicdata Electronics Limited