As we move towards a cleaner and more sustainable future, platinum group metal (PGM) catalysed technologies are gaining increased focus. They are an asset to the Net Zero transition and allow reliable and sustainable growth of fuel cells, but this is not yet fully recognised by the market and regulators, with debate on their availability, cost and circularity.
PGMs are used in the performance-defining components at the heart of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Platinum in particular is essential to making this technology work. It catalyses the reaction of the hydrogen fuel with oxygen to produce power, with water and heat being formed as by-products. And it is unique in its ability to withstand the acidic and oxidising environment of a fuel cell stack while sustaining high catalytic activity over the stack’s lifetime.
These properties also make platinum irreplaceable elsewhere in the fuel cell stack. It protects vital components from the harsh conditions to reduce degradation but still maintains conductivity of the electricity generated.
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