In terms of metals demand, Heraeus projected a 7% YoiY decline in Western European palladium autocatalyst demand in 2025, falling below 1 Moz for the first time since 2009 owing to expectations of strong BEV sales. However, if BEVs underperform this year and hybrids gain traction, the company noted that the decline in palladium demand could be smaller than anticipated.
UK-based chemicals technology company JM has slashed spending on its green hydrogen business by a whopping 83% in an effort to minimise losses and placate its largest shareholder — which had previously urged it to consider selling off the unit altogether.
TANAKA, has announced the development of the AgSn TLP sheet, a sheet-type bonding material designed for die attachment in the manufacturing of power semiconductor packages. Additionally, the AgSn TLP sheet is anticipated to serve as an alternative to thermal interface materials*1 (TIMs) for large-area bonding in heat sinks, further expanding its potential applications.
China’s Haitian Water Group, which is branching into the solar sector, will pay German tech giant Heraeus CNY502 million (USD68.8 million) in cash for its solar silver paste operations and factories in China and Singapore, which produce a key raw material that forms the metal electrodes in photovoltaic cells.
Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27% advance that’s been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks, and a wave of purchases by central banks.
Many analysts expect gold prices to hit $3,000 an ounce next year, but the rally is not expected to materialize until the second half of 2025. At the same time, with prices consolidating around $2,650 an ounce, next year's target would represent roughly a 13% gain compared to this year's nearly 30% rally.
Sibanye-Stillwater said it entered into a $500 million agreement with mining royalty company Franco-Nevada for the long-term supply of gold and platinum from three of its mines in South Africa.
PGMs are crucial for hydrogen-energy-enabled decarbonisation, especially when employed in proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology used in electrolysers and fuel cells, reports London-based global authority on platinum investment, the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC).
In his latest note, Carsten Fritsch, a precious metals analyst at Commerzbank, said he remains bullish on silver for 2025, as the metal looks to end the current year in lockstep with gold. The current gold/silver ratio is trading around 85 points, roughly where it started the year, even as prices have risen 30% in 2024.
New platinum-nickel core-shell catalyst shows stability for oxygen reduction reactions "We can enhance the performance of platinum by tuning its surface structure, which helps it react more efficiently," says Di Zhang, a specially appointed assistant professor at Tohoku University's Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR).
The average grain size of a typical bulk metal is about 10 μm at the smallest. In this new technology, the average crystal grain size can be controlled in the nano scale. As a result, the developed pure platinum, with 99.9% or higher purity, has 10 times the hardness and 4 times the strength of typical platinum materials.
The Silver Institute and Metals Focus says global silver demand in 2024 will largely grow due to gains from green economy applications, especially the PV sector. It expects the global silver market to show a physical deficit of around 182 million ounces in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of shortfall.
A research team of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has successfully developed a high-efficiency water electrolysis catalyst that significantly reduces the amount of iridium used to one-twentieth of that in commercial catalysts. This innovation addresses a major hurdle in the global scale-up of water electrolysis facilities, where the high price of iridium catalysts has been a ...
~40%! That’s the kind of returns Silver has delivered this year. Silver’s demand has outstripped its supply for the past 4 consecutive years. Its industrial applications continue to rise across the industries of tomorrow. As such, the rise in prices is driven by more than just a need to diversify - but fundamental reasons that can support prices. It's therefore no surprise, that market experts ...
Gold pared gains after reaching a fresh record high amid tensions in the Middle East and the approaching US presidential election. Silver advanced as much as 1.7% on Monday to the highest since 2012 before surrendering those gains.
A potential supply crunch is creating new momentum in palladium as prices push above $1,150 an ounce, up more than 9% on the day. According to reports, palladium’s fortunes have turned after the U.S. government asked its Group of Seven allies to consider placing sanctions on Russia’s supply of the precious metal, along with titanium. Russia is one of the top producers of palladium and titanium ...
The platinum market is facing its largest supply deficit in over a decade, driven by declining mining output, recycling challenges, and robust industrial demand, according to the latest report from the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC). Despite this massive gap, prices have not reacted as many would expect, leaving investors questioning the factors behind this disconnect. At the time of ...
China, already a dominant player in the automotive industry, is projected to surpass Western Europe as the largest market for heavy-duty autocatalyst platinum this year. Diesel engines, commonly used in heavy-duty applications like trucks and buses, require more platinum-intensive emissions treatment systems compared to gasoline-powered light vehicles. As a result, the Chinese market is expected ...
But a tapering in growth of EV sales, and a surge in demand for hybrid cars that need catalytic converters to curb pollution, have given PGMs a new lease of life that could put a floor under prices and keep some mines open for longer.