Global Platinum Group Metals Market - 2024-2031

Overview

Global Platinum Group Metals Market reached US$ 32.1 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 41.3 billion by 2031, growing with a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period 2024-2031.

The advancements in battery technology and the development of new battery chemistries for electric vehicles will be a key factor in facilitating global market growth during the forecast period. Cobalt-platinum nanomaterial alloys are being investigated for increasing the performance efficiency of electric vehicle batteries.

The long term growth potential for the global platinum group metals market is hobbled by the failure of major producers to boost production. Given the crash in PGM prices, many producers are actually closing many unprofitable mines and are more hesitant to deploy significant capital investments in exploring and exploiting new mines to support increase in global demand.

Dynamics

Adoption of Stringent Anti-Emission Norms

Although there is currently a global trend towards decarbonization, it is still expected to take another two decades to witness appreciable effects. In the meanwhile, governments have instituted stringent anti-emission regulations to heavily curb pollutants and carbon emissions from road transportation. For instance, the European Union is expected to institute the most stringent Euro 7 emission standards from 2026. From FY 21 onwards, India has implemented the Bharat Stage (BS) 6 emission norms whilst skipping BS5 norms, in an effort to reduce vehicular pollution.

The catalytic converter is the chief equipment used for pollution control in automobiles. A catalytic converter converts the highly toxic exhaust fumes of the vehicle into harmless gases through a redox reaction in the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst is a platinum group metal, either rhodium or palladium.

All modern vehicles are fitted with a catalytic converter. Many older vehicles are also being retrofitted with catalytic converters to prevent them from being rendered unworthy under new emission standards. The growing adoption of stringent emission norms is expected to drive the growth of the global platinum group metals market.

Development of New Cancer Therapies

Cases of chemotherapy treatment-resistant cancers has been growing in frequency over the past decade. However, in a similar note, although immunotherapy has become more advanced it has only been adopted for standard treatment for a few specific cancers. Therefore, scientists are now looking at developing new platinum-based chemotherapy drugs.

For instance, in March 2023, researchers at the South Ural State University in Russia synthesized new complex platinum molecules with less toxicity than traditional platinum-based chemotherapy agents. Nedaplatin, lobaplatin and heptaplatin are some platinum-based chemotherapy agents that have received regulatory approval in some countries but are not yet widely available globally. New cancer therapy development will further boost demand for platinum group metals during the forecast period.

Increased Price Volatility

The price of platinum group metals (PGM) has witnessed increased volatility in the post-pandemic period. Although prices underwent a brief recovery during the Q1 2021, prices have once again either stayed flat or declined for most of 2022 and 2023. Cumulative PGM prices fell by 42% through the entire 2023, with basket PGM average price going below the peak of April 2021.

The World Platinum Investment Council estimates global supply deficit at 8% of total demand and is likely to remain in place till 2027. Despite sanctions on Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine, there has been less than severe disruption in the global PGM markets, thereby further precipitating price decline. Many producers are actively looking to close lose making mining operations to boost overall profitability. An increase in price volatility will hamper the long term growth prospects of the global market.

Segment Analysis

The global platinum group metals market is segmented based on type, application and region.

Diverse Range of Applications for Platinum Give it a Major Market Share

One of the major industrial uses of platinum is as a catalyst in automotive catalytic converters, which convert toxic exhaust automotive fumes into harmless gases. Platinum is also used to produce specialized electrodes, laboratory equipment, platinum resistance thermometers and dentistry equipment. Platinum is used in glassmaking for the manipulation of molten glass.

Growing innovations in the field of pharmacy have also opened up new applications for platinum. For example, platinum-containing compounds such as cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin are used in chemotherapy drugs to treat certain types of cancer. Comparatively, other metals in the group such as ruthenium and palladium have more specialized and niche applications.

Geographical Penetration

North America to Garner the Largest Market Share

North America's major share in the global market is mainly due to its status as a leading scientific and technology hub. Many startups and established companies in various industrial sectors are active in the region. The region is a major producer of automobiles and automotive components. Platinum group metals are used in the production of catalytic converters for automobiles. North America produced 17.3 million vehicles in 2023, according to the international association of motor vehicle manufacturers (OICA).

North America is also a major hub of scientific research, mainly due to the well-developed research ecosystem of U.S. The space industry uses platinum to produce various rocket and satellite components. NASA is U. S's national space agency and the country has a well-developed space research industry. Private space companies such as SpaceX are also increasingly launching human spaceflight missions and satellite missions.

North America also has well-developed biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Both these industries utilize platinum group metals to produce various medical equipment and drug formulations. For instance, in November 2022, ImmunoGen, a U.S.-based biotechnology company launched Elahere, a new platinum chemotherapy drugs for ovarian cancer treatment. The continued dominance of U.S. in most emerging high technology research sectors ensures that North America will continue occupying a major share in the global platinum group metals market.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic created many challenges for the global market. PGM prices fell to multi-month lows in April 2020 and stayed low throughout the year on account of reduced demand from most sectors. Price recovery was only visible starting from February-March 2021, as the most stringent lockdowns were lifted. Most PGM mining operations were disrupted due to the pandemic.

The partial shutdown of commercial mining operations gave rise to illegal and artisanal mining. The flooding of market by illegally mined PGM metals further complicated the global price recovery during the short term. The post-pandemic period has witnessed a sustained rise in demand from various sectors and the market is poised for significant long-term growth.

Russia-Ukraine War Impact Analysis

The Russia-Ukraine war has created major upheaval in the global platinum group metals market, particularly since Russia is one of the largest producers of platinum and palladium. The sanctioning of trade in PGM by Russian entities by EU and U.S. has led Russia to resort to the international grey market for continuing the export of these metals.

The sanctioning of Russia has also created an opening for southern African nations such as Zimbabwe and South Africa for increasing their exports of platinum group metals. Multinational mining companies operating in both these countries are stepping up production at mining sites and are also exploring new potential sites for commercial production.

By Type

• Palladium
• Platinum
• Ruthenium
• Others

By Application

• Automotive
• Jewellery
• Carbon Material
• Industrial
• Chemical
• Electrical
• Glass
• Medical and Biomedical
• Petroleum
• Others

By Region

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of South America
• Asia-Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
• Middle East and Africa

Key Developments

• In June 2023, Sibanye-Stillwater, a South African multinational mining company, announced in an earnings call that it expects South Africa's production of platinum group metals to rebound by early 2024.
• In November 2023, Anglo American, a major multinational mining company, announced plans to cut output at its platinum and iron ore mining operations in a bid to reduce operating costs.
• In February 2024, Sibanye Stillwater announced a write down of profits totaling nearly US$ 2.58 billion on account of fall in global prices of platinum group metals.

Competitive Landscape

The major global players in the market include African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American Platinum, Aquarius Platinum, Eastern Platinum, Glencore, Implats, Johnson Matthey, Norilsk Nickel, Sibanye-Stillwater and Northam Platinum Limited.

Why Purchase the Report?

• To visualize the global platinum group metals market segmentation based on type, application and region, as well as understand key commercial assets and players.
• Identify commercial opportunities by analyzing trends and co-development.
• Excel data sheet with numerous data points of pouch tapes market-level with all segments.
• PDF report consists of a comprehensive analysis after exhaustive qualitative interviews and an in-depth study.
• Product mapping available as excel consisting of key products of all the major players.

The global platinum group metals market report would provide approximately 50 tables, 50 figures and 187 Pages.

Target Audience 2024

• Automotive Component Manufacturers
• Jewellery Manufacturers
• Commodity Trading Companies
• Industry Investors/Investment Bankers
• Research Professionals