Metal By Becky Berube Autocatalyst Recycling Outlook for 2019 L

ooking back is always easier than looking forward. And last year was a good year for autocatalyst recycling. And for 2019, the outlook remains positive. The strong demand for autocatalyst, increased vehicle recycling, and a short supply continues to push the palladium (Pd) price higher. Lower demand from the decrease of consumption of diesel vehicles in Europe combined with an increase of secondary supply from recycling continues to hold the platinum (Pt) price down. Stricter emission standards will increase rhodium (Rh) loadings, but that metal will still be in surplus.

The demand for new automobile cat- alyst climbed to record levels last year amidst a shortage of palladium, a surplus of platinum, and an increasing supply of

rhodium. You can see from Figure 1 that palladium makes up most of the precious metals contained in autocatalyst or cata- lytic converters. This is good news for palladium since palladium loadings have been increasing, mostly in the U.S. market, in autocata- lyst since the 1990s. At that time, the pal- ladium technology was less advanced and the fuels less clean, which means more palladium was added than platinum

The strong demand for autocatalyst, increased vehicle recycling, and a short supply continues to push the Palladium price higher. Lower demand from the decrease of consumption of diesel vehicles in Europe combined with an increase of secondary supply from recycling continues to hold the Platinum price down. Stricter emission standards will increase Rhodium loadings, but that metal will still be in surplus.

removed. At the same time, palladium was historically less than half the price of platinum.

Johnson Matthey in the PGM Market

Report dated February 13, 2019, states that the secondary supply of palladium grew by 10 percent in 2018, after having a 20 percent gain in 2017. This is due to the increase in vehicle recycling once the scrap steel price bounced back from its lows during 2015 – 2016. And considering “dieselgate,” Germany’s car emissions fraud scandal, there have been stricter vehicle testing procedures and tighter emission limits on heavy duty vehi- cles. This contributes to higher demand for autocatalyst and use of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), namely, Pt, Pd, and Rh. Even with the decreased use of platinum in three-way catalyst over the past 20 years, and the reduction of diesel catalyst production which uses more platinum, a small rise in increased demand for plat- inum will come from fuel cell technology in automotive applications and stationary power generation over the next several years. See Figure 2.

As emission standards tighten in most countries, rhodium loadings will also

20 // March-April 2019 Automotive Recycling