Platinum Group Metals Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

Global Platinum Group Metals Market Trends and Insights

Growing Demand for Catalytic Converters from the Automotive Sector

Passenger cars, hybrids, and heavy-duty trucks together consumed 60% of all PGMs in 2024. Stricter Euro 7 and China VI-b standards raise PGM loadings per vehicle, offsetting lower gasoline production volumes. Hybrid-vehicle catalysts are especially PGM-dense, pushing projected platinum autocatalyst demand to an eight-year high of 3.24 million oz in 2025. Heavy-duty vehicles require even higher PGM doses, creating a profitable niche that shields producers from passenger-car headwinds. Asia’s scale, coupled with government incentives for cleaner engines, keeps the Platinum group metals market firmly reliant on automotive offtake.

PEM Electrolyser Build-out in North America

Platinum demand linked to hydrogen is expected to double again in 2025, after reaching 875 koz by 2030, roughly 10% of total platinum use. Canada’s 40% clean-hydrogen tax credit and the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act underpin multi-gigawatt electrolyser orders. Iridium scarcity is an obstacle: 2024 production barely reached 7.7 tons. Technology breakthroughs, such as Smoltek’s nanoscale coatings that reduce iridium loading in PEM cells by 95%, are vital for scaling supply. These developments solidify a long-run growth platform for the Platinum group metals market.

Increasing Electronics Demand

Platinum and palladium enable higher-layer ceramic capacitors, while ruthenium is integral to next-generation memory and hard-disk platters. Device miniaturization boosts purity requirements, favoring PGMs’ conductivity and thermal stability. Emerging battery chemistries demonstrate that adding platinum can extend electric-vehicle range by 30%, potentially creating a balancing demand channel as internal-combustion-engine volumes taper. Semiconductor fabs in Taiwan, Korea, and Arizona are therefore long-term anchors for the Platinum group metals market.

Palladium-for-Platinum Substitution

Automakers replaced more than 600 koz of palladium with platinum in 2023 to mitigate cost spreading, and the substitution is continuing despite price parity between the metals for the first time since 2018. With reformulated catalysts already validated, OEMs prefer platinum’s higher availability and widening future supply pipeline. This dual-metal upswing lifts both metals, but structurally re-weights demand toward platinum over the forecast horizon, supporting the Platinum group metals market.

High Production Costs

Electricity load shedding and labor unrest in South Africa elevated mining costs: Anglo American Platinum’s unit cost rose 5% to ZAR 20,922 per 6E oz in 2024. Deep-level deposits require advanced refrigeration and reef stabilization, elevating the fixed-cost base. During price troughs, swing producers operate at breakeven or losses, reducing capital capacity for expansion. These dynamics add downside risk to supply stability and limit long-term contracts for the Platinum group metals market.

Price Volatility Deterring Long-Term Off-Take

In 2024, platinum prices demonstrated notable volatility, while palladium experienced considerable price fluctuations within a short period. This variability complicates cost forecasts for fuel-cell stack manufacturers and aircraft propulsion start-ups such as Hydroplane. Volatility compels OEMs to hedge heavily or defer production, muting accelerated adoption and tempering near-term growth for the Platinum group metals market.

Segment Analysis

By Metal Type: Palladium Dominates, Iridium Accelerates

Palladium captured 47% of the Platinum group metals market in 2024 as gasoline catalysts continued to dominate consumption. Iridium, used chiefly in PEM electrolyser anodes, is projected to grow at a 9.04% CAGR through 2030, the fastest among all PGMs. Tight supply and technological reliance sustain iridium’s price premium, magnifying its contribution to the Platinum group metals market size in later years. Platinum’s renaissance stems from its substitution into gasoline catalysts; over 600 koz converted demand in 2023 alone. Rhodium’s limited substitutes command high pricing, while ruthenium and osmium gain traction in niche chemical and data-storage applications, diversifying revenue streams.

Persistent load-growth in PEM systems and advanced memory drives iridium and ruthenium from specialty to mainstream status. Prices for rhodium averaged USD 5,375 /oz in 2024, indicative of constrained supply. Platinum’s wider availability and ongoing substitution lock-in robust demand, stabilizing the Platinum group metals market. Recycling yields of technological scraps such as disk drives improve ruthenium supply security, tempering upward price pressure but reinforcing circular-economy credentials prized by electronics firms.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Application: Fuel Cells Outpace Jewelry

Jewelry retained 29% of PGM consumption in 2024, cementing its status as the largest application, especially across China, Japan, and India. Quiet-luxury trends and platinum’s investment appeal sustain baseline volumes despite macroeconomic softness. The fuel-cell segment, however, is racing ahead with a 29.66% CAGR, supported by multi-gigawatt electrolyser initiatives and stationary power programs. The Platinum group metals market size allocated to fuel-cell stacks is thus expected to expand rapidly through 2030.

Autocatalysts remain indispensable as lawmakers raise emission-control thresholds. Electronics applications keep climbing as semiconductor nodes shrink below 3 nm. Glass fibre production and pigment uses leverage platinum’s high melting point, while medical devices rely on its biocompatibility for catheters and stents. Chemical-process catalysts, notably in nitric-acid and refinery hydrocracking, continue to consume sizable but steady PGM volumes, offering a diversified application base that hedges cyclical swings.

By Source: Secondary Supply Builds Momentum

Primary mining furnished 72% of global volume in 2024, yet recycled material is rising at a 7.20% CAGR. Spent autocatalysts are the richest feedstock, and processing efficiencies now reach 95% recovery at Umicore’s facilities^{[1]“Spent Automotive Catalyst Recycling,” Umicore, umicore.com} . Johnson Matthey’s circular-economy platform reports a 98% lower carbon footprint for recycled PGMs versus mined equivalents, a decisive advantage for ESG-conscious buyers^{[2]“Creating a Circular Economy,” Johnson Matthey, matthey.com} . The Platinum group metals market benefits from this dual supply route because secondary tonnage dampens price spikes during supply shocks.

Primary output faces geological headwinds: deeper shafts, lower grades, and security hazards in key basins. Anglo American Platinum’s 6% production drop in Q4 2024 highlighted these structural issues. Recycling thus improves supply resilience and underpins sustainable demand, enlarging the Platinum group metals market size while aligning with carbon-neutral procurement targets embraced by automotive and electronics manufacturers.

By End-Use Industry: Automotive Dominates, Renewable Energy Surges

Automotive applications commanded 60% of volume in 2024, cementing their centrality to the Platinum group metals market. Stricter emission legislation across China, India, and the European Union ensures that autocatalyst demand remains solid. Renewable-energy and hydrogen technologies, however, form the fastest-growing end-use arena at a projected 9.50% CAGR through 2030. The World Platinum Investment Council estimates that hydrogen applications could absorb 11% of annual platinum demand by 2030^{[3]“With Palladium Oversold and Platinum’s Attractive Fundamentals, Both Metals Have Upside,” World Platinum Investment Council, platinuminvestment.com} .

Industrial chemicals remain a steady second-tier consumer, exploiting PGMs’ catalytic efficiency. The electronics sector’s appetite for ultra-pure materials in chip fabrication provides another high-margin outlet. Luxury jewelry, healthcare devices, and glass production round out a broad end-use spread, reinforcing the Platinum group metals market against single-sector shocks. Government hydrogen-funding pipelines in the United States, Canada, and Europe should anchor multiyear demand for renewable-energy PGMs, diversifying income streams for miners and refiners.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Asia held a commanding 52% share of the Platinum group metals market in 2024, underpinned by China’s status as the largest consumer of palladium for autocatalysts and platinum for jewelry. Beijing’s pursuit of domestic pricing power led the Guangzhou Futures Exchange to list platinum and palladium contracts, deepening liquidity and encouraging industrial users to hedge long-term positions Nikkei Asia. Japan’s jewelry rebound and India’s wedding-driven ornament demand strengthen regional pull, while the region’s electronics clusters in Taiwan and South Korea reinforce industrial consumption.

Europe, driven by stringent emissions mandates in Germany and the United Kingdom, has experienced significant growth in consumption, leading to heightened catalyst loadings. The forthcoming Euro 7 framework stimulates additional PGM intensity in both passenger and heavy-duty platforms, although the electric-vehicle transition creates a complex demand balance. Europe also champions PGM recycling: Johnson Matthey and Umicore run state-of-the-art facilities that recover autocatalyst metals with minimal emissions, supporting circular-economy targets and stabilizing the Platinum group metals market.

North America is emerging as a growth pole thanks to hydrogen policies and sustained gasoline vehicle sales. Canada is the world’s third-largest palladium and fourth-largest platinum producer, with 710,000 oz mined in 2022, chiefly in Ontario Natural Resources Canada. Ottawa’s clean-hydrogen tax incentive accelerates electrolyser projects, channelling additional platinum and iridium demand into the region. The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act amplifies this trajectory by funding hydrogen hubs, reinforcing long-run prospects for the Platinum group metals market.