Hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen made from renewables, is essential for the energy transition due to its versatility as a fuel, chemical feedstock and energy carrier. Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) are critical for enabling the use of green hydrogen to achieve decarbonization goals. PGMs are used across the hydrogen value chain in a variety of applications that are important for the energy transition (Figure 2).

Understandably, the focus tends to be on the use of PGM catalysts in proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology in upstream (electrolyzer) and downstream (hydrogen fuel cell) applications. Of this demand, fuel cells used in both mobility (land, sea and air transport) and stationary applications comprise the largest segment of projected hydrogen-related platinum demand, which is forecast to reach over 600 koz by 2030. 

However, PGM-based midstream applications, including hydrogen purification, hydrogen distribution and e-fuel production are also facilitating the development of the hydrogen economy, offering scope for PGM demand growth.

At present, hydrogen is mainly used as a feedstock in the chemical and petrochemical industries and the current 95 Mt per annum global hydrogen market primarily relies on fossil fuels for its production. Yet hydrogen serves as a versatile energy carrier, which can be produced from renewable energy sources and applied across various mobility and industrial sectors to facilitate decarbonisation. Decarbonizing the existing 95 Mt annual hydrogen market would save 430 Mt of CO₂ emissions, the equivalent of taking 120 million vehicles off the road for a year. 

The ecosystem of technologies and processes that contribute to hydrogen use in decarbonization is known as the hydrogen economy (Figure 3).

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that hydrogen demand will increase to 150 Mt by 2030 driven by energy-transition-related uses in fuel cells and novel industrial processes, such as Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) steelmaking and hydrogen use in gas turbine power stations. Electrolyzers and carbon capture technology will be utilized to generate 60 Mt of new supply, thereby displacing fossil fuel-based hydrogen production and decarbonizing new sectors.

According to the Hydrogen Council, by 2050, hydrogen could be responsible for up to 20% of global emissions abatement from its combined use with other applications.

The hydrogen economy is driven by chemical and electrochemical processes that require PGM catalysts to facilitate or speed up reactions. The physicochemical properties of platinum make its use particularly essential for scaling the hydrogen economy and WPIC estimates its expansion will support additional platinum demand of between 850 and 900 koz per annum by 2030.

• Upstream
  • PGM catalysts provide the necessary surface reactivity in processes such as electrolysis. Platinum, alongside iridium and ruthenium, are the key catalysts employed in upstream production of hydrogen via electrolysis.  
• Midstream 
  • The uses for platinum include purifying hydrogen from electrolyzers, ammonia cracking and loading hydrogen into a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) for transportation purposes and storage. Increasingly PGMs are being used to create e-fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
• Downstream 
  • Platinum catalysts are used in hydrogen fuel cells for mobility or stationary power applications, with solutions available across road, aviation, marine and off-highway sectors. 

The purification of hydrogen is the process of removing impurities and contaminants from hydrogen gas to produce a pure and high-quality product. Hydrogen gas can be contaminated with a variety of impurities, including water vapour, carbon monoxide, sulphur and other gases, depending on the source of the gas and the conditions under which it is produced. 

The quality grade of hydrogen gas can have a significant impact on the performance of hydrogen fuel cells, which require high-purity hydrogen gas to operate efficiently and reliably.

The production of hydrogen through electrolysis is a proven technology that is poised to grow significantly. According to the IEA, by 2030, approximately 70% of new hydrogen supply is expected to come from electrolysis, with the remaining 30% from steam methane reformation of natural gas combined with carbon capture and storage (Figure 4). However, in electrolysis the separation of the gases is not necessarily perfect. Depending on the electrolysis technology, there is a degree of “slip” of one gas into the other.

Electrochemical separation is one of the most commonly used methods for hydrogen purification. It occurs in a palladium hydrogen purifier, where the separation process is facilitated electrochemically by using the catalytic characteristics of palladium-coated membranes. Palladium membrane hydrogen purifiers are very compact and ideally suited for use in hydrogen mobility solutions.

Ammonia cracking and LOHC: Today, hydrogen is typically produced and consumed in the same chemical facility. However, as the hydrogen economy evolves, it will necessitate the transportation of hydrogen nationally and globally to connect production facilities with emerging end demand. While hydrogen has a higher energy mass (energy per kilogram) than conventional liquid fuels such as gasoline, it has a lower volumetric energy density, making it very light and therefore difficult to transport over long distances. 

The transportation and storage of hydrogen is mainly based on compressed hydrogen, which due to its low density needs to be stored at either extremely high pressures (350-700 bar) or as a liquid at extremely low temperatures (-253°C), requiring specialist handling. 

However, hydrogen can be transported as a derivative product such as ammonia or by using a LOHC. With higher energy densities per unit of volume, these methods enhance transport efficiency by concentrating the energy payload. 

Ammonia production is currently the second-largest demand segment for hydrogen. It is a crucial chemical building block, especially vital for agricultural fertilizers. Ammonia is primarily produced through the Haber-Bosch process, which involves the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen or green hydrogen under high pressure and temperature conditions.

Green ammonia or e-ammonia is produced by combining green hydrogen with nitrogen captured from the atmosphere in a reactor, resulting in the synthesis of carbon-free ammonia. 

Ammonia can be stored and transported in liquid form at an ambient temperature and moderate pressure, which makes the storage and handling of ammonia more practical and less energy-intensive compared to hydrogen. In addition, there is already infrastructure for the production, storage and distribution of ammonia, particularly in the agricultural and chemical industries. 

The IEA predicts that by 2030 ammonia will be the most common ocean freighted form of hydrogen, with liquid hydrogen transport only constituting a minor share (Figure 5).

Hydrogen that is transported and chemically stored in the form of ammonia is released in a chemical reaction called ammonia cracking. The cracking of ammonia to hydrogen and nitrogen requires a high temperature and high-pressure environment. To lower the temperature and pressure to optimize the energy requirement, a PGM-based catalyst is often used, typically ruthenium.

LOHC technologies are also being developed to provide an effective alternative solution to existing hydrogen storage and transportation methods by chemically bonding hydrogen to a stable organic liquid carrier, thereby eliminating the need for compression.

LOHCs absorb and release hydrogen through chemical reactions. When hydrogen is absorbed into the liquid organic carrier, PGM-based hydrogenation catalysts are used, including platinum. This liquid substance can then be stored and transported using existing fuel distribution networks and at ambient temperature and pressure. Platinum is also used as a catalyst in the dehydrogenation process that releases hydrogen from the LOHC. 

Also called synthetic fuels, these are low-carbon or carbon neutral fuels produced via combining sustainable carbon dioxide with hydrogen produced by electrolysis. The Fischer-Tropsch process is utilized to combine carbon and hydrogen in the presence of a PGM catalyst to produce synthetic fuels. 

These synthetic hydrocarbons, such as syn-kerosene and syn-diesel, can be utilized in existing internal combustion engines in the automotive and aviation sectors. Due to the high-weight of batteries and fuel cells, e-fuels are seen as the primary method to decarbonize the aviation industry alongside sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Although SAF production today is relatively limited, IATA estimates that it must reach 360 Mtpa by 2050 for the aviation industry to achieve net zero. Using data presented by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, WPIC estimates that this will require almost 6 Moz of platinum catalysts (Figure 7). 

Hydrogen end markets could account for 11% of total platinum demand by 2030, increasing from 40 koz in 2023 to around 900 koz in 2030, driven primarily by the use of platinum in upstream (electrolyzer) and downstream (hydrogen fuel cell) applications (Figure 8).

However, PGM-based midstream applications, including hydrogen purification, hydrogen distribution and e-fuel production are also facilitating the development of the hydrogen economy, offering scope for PGM demand growth.

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