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Johannesburg - Hydrogen powered cars could reach production levels within three to five years and get the platinum industry out of its prolonged slump, reported Sake24.
"It seems that commercial production of fuel cell powered cars could get going by 2015," Jeremy Coombes, head of marketing at Johnson Matthey, the British broker of precious metals, said last week when he presented the group's latest depressing report on the global platinum market.
"Japan, Germany and California are quickly constructing infrastructure for hydrogen filling stations for public transportation. It looks like it will eventually happen and Japan will be ready by 2015. It could make a significant difference in consumption of platinum in the automotive industry," said Coombes.
If he is right, it could be great news for South Africa, which produces 80% of the world's platinum.
This is the third consecutive year that there is a global shortage of the metal, but the platinum price remains low because of weak demand.
Platinum recycled from old exhaust systems of cars will this year for the first time be more than primary production of about 4.5 million ounces produced by mines every year.
Over the past two years the auto industry has finally realised that future clean energy for cars would at least have to use a mixture of water cells and another energy source such as diesel or electricity - in other words a hybrid car.
Electric powered cars and electric hybrid cars are not the solutions everyone hoped for. The range of the batteries which drive the cars is too short and generated electricity is in any event mostly not clean, because it is generated by coal or nuclear power.
Hydrogen powered cars use platinum as membranes to separate hydrogen and oxygen before it is mixed. The mixture produces electricity and 100% pure water as additive - no other polluting by-products.
Japan at the forefront
It seems Japan is at the forefront of this. Several companies and government agencies have been working for several years to set up a "hydrogen highway" around Tokyo.
It's to roll out hydrogen filling stations and other infrastructure for hydrogen in Tokyo and ten surrounding cities. It started as a system for fuel cell powered buses, but a transition to cars is the natural next step.
Currently there are ten such filling stations in Japan, but by 2015 there will be a hundred filling stations.
The project accelerated after the Fukoshima nuclear disaster when Japan decided to become less dependent on nuclear energy in several areas.
By the end of last year, for example, 10 000 homes were fitted with hydrogen cells that generated all household electricity for those households.
The country's three auto giants, Toyota , Nissan and Honda, are obviously important participants in the hydrogen highway project. All three undertook to open production lines for hydrogen powered cars by 2015.
The obstacle has been the range of hydrogen cars, which has been about 250km so far. It's the range of several prototypes.
Toyota shines
Toyota is the star at the Tokyo Motor Show this week, because it will launch the first "practical" concept model of the car it will start producing in 2015.
The sleek car can run for ten hours, which will give it a range of up to 500km or a week's use by a family before the car has to go to one of the hydrogen filling stations. It would take about three minutes before the car is "full" again.
Most car manufacturers have already made ??several concept models. So far the closest to production has been cars made by Honda which has a range of about 250km. The vehicles are used in California as car rentals. It cannot be sold, because the production costs are way too high.
Production costs will drop when a complete production line is created and economies of scale is reached, but it does not solve the problem with the low range.
Toyota's model will, therefore be the leader.
How much platinum
The big question: How much platinum is in such a car? Up to now about 120 grams of platinum has been needed for a hydrogen cell which can power a family car for four people, but the latest technology has reduced it to between 50 grams and 70 grams - about 1.6 ounces per car at 50 grams.
At the current platinum prices of $1 435 per ounce it comes down to about $2 300 per car. The target price for the first fuel cell production cars is about $50 000 per car. The platinum content is, therefore, less than 3% of the retail price of the car.
It is much more than the 3 to 4 grams of platinum which is needed in the exhaust system of light diesel vehicles to keep them within European environmental regulations.
Kobus Nell, a platinium analyst at Stanlib said at this consumption about 500 000 cars would be needed "to move the speedometer of the platinum price."
* For business news in Afrikaans, see Sake24.
"It seems that commercial production of fuel cell powered cars could get going by 2015," Jeremy Coombes, head of marketing at Johnson Matthey, the British broker of precious metals, said last week when he presented the group's latest depressing report on the global platinum market.
"Japan, Germany and California are quickly constructing infrastructure for hydrogen filling stations for public transportation. It looks like it will eventually happen and Japan will be ready by 2015. It could make a significant difference in consumption of platinum in the automotive industry," said Coombes.
If he is right, it could be great news for South Africa, which produces 80% of the world's platinum.
This is the third consecutive year that there is a global shortage of the metal, but the platinum price remains low because of weak demand.
Platinum recycled from old exhaust systems of cars will this year for the first time be more than primary production of about 4.5 million ounces produced by mines every year.
Over the past two years the auto industry has finally realised that future clean energy for cars would at least have to use a mixture of water cells and another energy source such as diesel or electricity - in other words a hybrid car.
Electric powered cars and electric hybrid cars are not the solutions everyone hoped for. The range of the batteries which drive the cars is too short and generated electricity is in any event mostly not clean, because it is generated by coal or nuclear power.
Hydrogen powered cars use platinum as membranes to separate hydrogen and oxygen before it is mixed. The mixture produces electricity and 100% pure water as additive - no other polluting by-products.
Japan at the forefront
It seems Japan is at the forefront of this. Several companies and government agencies have been working for several years to set up a "hydrogen highway" around Tokyo.
It's to roll out hydrogen filling stations and other infrastructure for hydrogen in Tokyo and ten surrounding cities. It started as a system for fuel cell powered buses, but a transition to cars is the natural next step.
Currently there are ten such filling stations in Japan, but by 2015 there will be a hundred filling stations.
The project accelerated after the Fukoshima nuclear disaster when Japan decided to become less dependent on nuclear energy in several areas.
By the end of last year, for example, 10 000 homes were fitted with hydrogen cells that generated all household electricity for those households.
The country's three auto giants, Toyota , Nissan and Honda, are obviously important participants in the hydrogen highway project. All three undertook to open production lines for hydrogen powered cars by 2015.
The obstacle has been the range of hydrogen cars, which has been about 250km so far. It's the range of several prototypes.
Toyota shines
Toyota is the star at the Tokyo Motor Show this week, because it will launch the first "practical" concept model of the car it will start producing in 2015.
The sleek car can run for ten hours, which will give it a range of up to 500km or a week's use by a family before the car has to go to one of the hydrogen filling stations. It would take about three minutes before the car is "full" again.
Most car manufacturers have already made ??several concept models. So far the closest to production has been cars made by Honda which has a range of about 250km. The vehicles are used in California as car rentals. It cannot be sold, because the production costs are way too high.
Production costs will drop when a complete production line is created and economies of scale is reached, but it does not solve the problem with the low range.
Toyota's model will, therefore be the leader.
How much platinum
The big question: How much platinum is in such a car? Up to now about 120 grams of platinum has been needed for a hydrogen cell which can power a family car for four people, but the latest technology has reduced it to between 50 grams and 70 grams - about 1.6 ounces per car at 50 grams.
At the current platinum prices of $1 435 per ounce it comes down to about $2 300 per car. The target price for the first fuel cell production cars is about $50 000 per car. The platinum content is, therefore, less than 3% of the retail price of the car.
It is much more than the 3 to 4 grams of platinum which is needed in the exhaust system of light diesel vehicles to keep them within European environmental regulations.
Kobus Nell, a platinium analyst at Stanlib said at this consumption about 500 000 cars would be needed "to move the speedometer of the platinum price."
* For business news in Afrikaans, see Sake24.
