The perilous future of the platinum industry depends largely on the development of the hydrogen fuel-cell car, and the omens look pretty bad –but not as bad as popularly believed. This battle is not done yet; not by a long shot.
This is partly why are now three large car companies committed to producing hydrogen cars. Even Tanaka said hydrogen remains a viable alternative to gasoline, and Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada said in 2016, “We’re not about to give up on hydrogen electric fuel-cell technology at all.” And the cost of filling up with hydrogen is roughly three times as much as it would cost to fill up what is now derisively called an “ICE” car in the US. . Fuelling is so expensive, car companies are covering the fuel costs for hydrogen cars for three years.
I asked Hinkly if Musk was stupid to call hydrogen fuel cell vehicles stupid, hoping he would answer with an emphatic “yes”. Sadly, he went for a more nuanced response. Long-range, heavy-use vehicles might be better suited to hydrogen power, which is why Anglo Platinum has undertaken to convert its mining vehicles to fuel-cell technology.
But the same is somewhat true of the EV system and that problem relates to some of the base products in lithium-ion batteries. The battery requires cobalt, which is produced mainly in the DRC, although cobalt is a by-product of copper mining which is mined all over the shop, so it’s less of a problem.