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International Platinum Group Metals Association

IPA

The International Platinum Group Metals Association e.V.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Charlotte Merlier (Cabinet of Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič)

5 Nov 2025 · EU-South Africa CTIP

Response to Commission Implementing Regulation on the list for the purposes of Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1252

24 Jul 2025

As the International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA), representing over 80% of the global platinum group metals (PGMs) industry, we support the European Commissions objective to improve circularity for Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), including PGMs. These metals are vital for the EUs green transition, digital infrastructure, and strategic resilience. In our response, we address the following key areas: 1) The need for a harmonised EU approach; 2) Cross-border waste flows and market efficiency; 3) Circularity policies aligned with PGM supply chain realities. Our key recommendation: Adopt a harmonised EU framework for CRM recovery that supports efficient cross-border waste flows and recognises the essential role of both recycling and primary production to meet growing PGM demand. More details in the document attached.
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Meeting with Adam Romanowski (Cabinet of Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič), Charlotte Merlier (Cabinet of Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič) and Umicore

25 Jun 2025 · PGM and Germanium

Meeting with Sandra Bartelt (Principal Adviser Directorate-General for International Partnerships)

24 Jun 2025 · Exchange of views on critical minerals as topic of discussion in the context of the South African G20 Presidency.

Response to Communication on the EU Stockpiling Strategy

9 May 2025

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) represents 80% of the worlds leading Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) mining, production, and fabrication companies and has a very high manufacturing and recycling industry footprint in the European Union. The IPA welcomes the European Commissions initiative to strengthen the EUs resilience through a strategic stockpiling strategy. However, we very much urge the Commission to exclude PGMs which comprise platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium from any physical stockpiling measures. 1. Stockpiling PGMs Would Cause Severe Market Distortions The PGM market is relatively small, highly specialized, and globally integrated. Sudden public-sector interventionssuch as the creation of large strategic reserveswould severely distort market dynamics. Historically, even modest shifts in purchasing patterns have caused significant price volatility. For instance, any attempts to accumulate large quantities of iridium or rhodium could create artificial scarcity, leading to price spikes that would undermine downstream applications critical to the EUs clean energy transition and relying on PGMs, such as hydrogen electrolysis and transport emissions control by catalytic converter technology. 2. Physical Stockpiling Could Undermine Clean Technology Scale-Up Physical accumulation of PGMs risks exacerbating price instability and supply constraints at a time when the EU is scaling up technologies heavily reliant on these materials. This is particularly relevant for: Iridium, which is essential for PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolyzers in green hydrogen production. Platinum, used in PEM fuel cells and automotive catalysts for emissions control Artificial demand introduced by stockpiling could push prices to levels that make these technologies economically unviable, slowing rather than accelerating the energy transition. 3. Smarter Alternatives: Recycling and Thrifting Instead of stockpiling, the EU should prioritize measures that improve material efficiency and circularity: Recycling: Europe has the technical capability to become a global leader in high-quality PGM recycling. This requires strong enforcement of waste legislation, especially the reduction of end-of-life vehicle leakage outside the EU, which results in significant critical raw material (CRM) losses. Thrifting and Substitution: Industry-led research has shown that, through effective design and innovation, the loadings of PGMs can be significantly reduced without compromising performance. This ensures sustainable scale-up of technologies like fuel cells and electrolysers. https://www.miningweekly.com/article/platinum-group-metals-can-play-essential-decarb-role-beyond-hydrogen-heraeus-2024-09-17 4. Strategic Autonomy Through Responsible Imports and Circularity The EU will remain dependent on PGM imports over the next 1015 years due to limited domestic primary production. Instead of pursuing stockpiling, IPA urges the EU to: Strengthen partnerships with responsible, resource-rich countries. Invest in recycling infrastructure, especially in collection and pre-processing facilities and enforce stricter controls on waste exports. Promote a stable regulatory framework that encourages private investment in PGM recovery and refining. Complete the intra-EU single market on waste, for instance regarding waste shipment procedures, such as an automatic tacit consent for transits of shipments destined to pre-consented facilities, harmonized calculation of financial guarantees, English as an accepted language. Conclusion: While we support the overarching goal of enhancing the EUs strategic autonomy and supply resilience, we strongly caution against the physical stockpiling of PGMs due to the high risk of unintended economic and environmental consequences. A better pathway to resilience lies in advancing circular economy strategies and maintaining market stability.
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Response to Delegated act on primarily used components under the Net-Zero Industry Act

20 Feb 2025

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) welcomes the European Commissions commitment to advancing hydrogen technologies and facilitating the implementation of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA). This represents a crucial step toward strengthening the EUs industrial and energy landscape, supporting seamless energy integration, and enhancing domestic manufacturing capacities for key clean technologies. To effectively scale up hydrogen production and use, policy efforts must encompass all critical components necessary to reinforce entire supply chains, ensuring European industrial competitiveness. The deeply integrated supply chain of hydrogen spans various applications, including electrolysers and alternative hydrogen production pathways for a technology-neutral approach. Fuel cells serve both transport and stationary power applications, while hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2ICE) provide a viable solution for decarbonizing vehicles. IPA strongly supports the inclusion of hydrogen internal combustion engines in the NZIA delegated act and emphasizes the importance of specifying dedicated components such as the emission control system, including the three-way catalyst, selective catalytic reduction catalyst, oxidation catalyst, ammonia slip catalyst, and particulate filter. Additionally, for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell and electrolyser technologies, the electrocatalyst should be added as a key component. Beyond production and end-use applications, robust infrastructure is essential for transporting hydrogen and its derivatives across Europe. Efficient distribution networks will ensure the seamless delivery and storage of hydrogen molecules, supporting the transition to a resilient and integrated hydrogen economy. Moreover, hydrogen technologies depend on advanced materials, including specialized electrocatalysts and high-performance steel manufacturing, which must be considered in EU policy frameworks. IPA would like to point out that a timely rollout of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) alongside battery electric vehicles (BEVs) must be an EU priority to achieve stronger industrial competitiveness and secure critical raw materials supply necessary for hydrogen production. Developing FCEVs would secure the continued supply of iridium which is essential for hydrogen production. Iridium as a by-product of platinum group metals (PGMs) mining becomes only available if there is enough demand for platinum. Platinum is currently in high demand for use in catalytic converters to reduce exhaust emissions from vehicles but needs a replacement market for the future. Because the shrinking mass market for PGMs used in combustion-engine vehicles requires a FCEV uptake to stabilise PGM mining investment which is needed to secure the supply of iridium as a minor by-product of PGM mining. IPA supports the position by its sister organisation AECC, the Association for Emissions Control and Climate, who welcomes the inclusion of Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) technologies and calls for the addition of components and technologies for sustainable biofuels in road transportnot just Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). IPA believes that a comprehensive approach to scaling up hydrogen and other clean energy technologies will not only enhance Europes manufacturing capabilities but also strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of its hydrogen ecosystem, positioning the EU as a global leader in the clean energy transition.
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Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

30 Jun 2023

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) appreciates the European Commissions proposal for a Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). IPAs comments are primarily concerned with proposed benchmarks, joint purchasing mechanism, as well as the one-size-fits-all approach applied by the European Commission which currently doesnt fully reflect the fact that critical raw materials have very different features and availability and are needed in very different quantities. The IPA is a non-profit association that represents the worldwide leading mining, fabrication and recycling companies in the global platinum group metals (PGMs) industry, comprising platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, and osmium. Please find attached IPA's comments on the CRMA together with the 'IPA Whitepaper on Iridium'.
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Response to Development of Euro 7 emission standards for cars, vans, lorries and buses

9 Feb 2023

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) is a non-profit association that represents the worldwide leading mining, production and fabrication companies in the global platinum group metals (PGMs) industry, comprising platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium and ruthenium. The Platinum Group Metals industry that IPA represents, welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Euro 7 proposal. The automotive catalytic converter is based on PGMs and autocatalysts are one of the largest users of PGMs: in 2021, they used the equivalent of 71% of total world demand for PGMs (Source: Johnson Matthey's PGM Market Report, May 2021). IPA with AECC (Association for Emission Control by Catalyst) and partners (iav, DENSO) carried out several demonstrator projects to show how available technologies can help to reduce emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles to allow them to comply with the new regulation. The Euro 7 emission standards need to be swiftly adopted, well before the next EU elections. This is key to realising the implementation dates prescribed in the proposal. Euro 7 will lead to positive impact on air quality for the years to come. IPA agrees with AECCs contribution to this consultation: AECC has analysed the pollutant emissions data measured from its demonstrator vehicles according to limits and data processing methodology prescribed in the proposal. For light-duty vehicles, AECC regrets the adopted Euro 7 proposal deviates from the outcome of the ECs Impact Assessment for gaseous pollutants. AECC data is significantly below the proposed Euro 7 limits under warm operation for all gaseous pollutants. Affordable emission control technologies are available to achieve the medium ambition limits of the Impact Assessment. It is also important to note that the Euro 7 proposal does not include a complete set of limits for pollutant emissions for light-duty vehicles. This was expected as a guideline for the design of emission control systems, similarly to the proposal for heavy-duty vehicles. With respect to light-duty particulates, AECC data shows the proposed Euro 7 PN limit is achievable. It is important to note that development in substrate and coating technologies is ongoing, beyond what has been demonstrated. But several test procedure changes have a similar effect to reducing limit values. This includes the increased effort required as we move from PN23 to PN10 and no explicit counting of the PEMS margin, which is higher for PN compared to gaseous pollutants. The same boundary conditions should apply for light- and heavy-duty vehicles as both vehicle types move in cities and on highways, and encounter similar ambient and altitude conditions. Restricting the extended conditions to a single parameter to have a valid test is not representative of the driving conditions encountered in the real world. AECC supports the Euro 7 proposal for heavy-duty vehicles as it follows the outcome of the ECs Impact Assessment. AECC has demonstrated that affordable emission control technologies are available to substantially reduce heavy-duty vehicles pollutant emissions. AECC welcomes the options for manufacturers included in Article 5 of the Euro 7 proposal for both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. Options like Euro 7+, 7A, 7G, and their combinations can further promote innovation in emission controls and achieve pollutant reduction levels beyond the capabilities of todays state-of-the-art technologies. It will be important for Member States to consider as well, as incentives will be needed to drive the innovation. Finally, Euro 7 emission standards should ensure Europe retains a leading role in pollutant emissions legislations worldwide. In this way, European standards will continue to serve as the benchmark for other emissions legislations around the world. The PGM industry is committed to provide the raw materials needed for applications in green technology to help reach climate goals.
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Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

25 Nov 2022

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) is a non-profit association that represents the worldwide leading mining, production and fabrication companies in the global platinum group metals (PGMs) industry, comprising platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium and ruthenium. The IPA welcomes and fully supports the European Commissions intention to put forward the Critical Raw Materials Act. The Critical Raw Materials Act must also include a much stronger global strategy for securing responsible imports. In the case of PGMs, even a very ambitious recycling strategy of these CRMs will not completely lead to substitution of demand for supply from primary production. As the EU will remain reliant on imports to supply its medium-term growth in the next 15 years, IPA recommends that the EU increases its ambitions to secure responsible and fair imports from prioritised resource-rich partners. IPA would like to point out that the PGM industry is strongly committed to the circularity in the usage of these metals. IPA supports plans to make Europe the global leader for high-quality metals recycling as recycling will be Europes key long-term opportunity to establish metals strategic autonomy, especially after 2040 when the first generation of clean energy technologies reaches end-of-life in significant volumes. The PGM industry understands the need to secure long-term critical raw materials to enable the clean energy transition. However, with regard to safeguarding supply of iridium, experts from the PGM industry believe that any attempt to procure large iridium volumes could lead to irrational price moves that would impact the electrolysis market. Research undertaken by industry players suggests that with appropriate management, notably through thrifting and recycling, there will be enough iridium and platinum available to allow PEM electrolysis and PEM fuel cells to scale up to the necessary levels to make a major contribution to the energy transition. Please find more information in the IPA White-Paper on Iridium. IPA suggests paying attention to the issues left unaddressed in the impact assessment, such as coherence with other EU legislations in particular REACH revision and with EU waste legislations. To enable comprehensive recycling of CRMs from end-of-life vehicles, IPA calls for better control of leakage of waste outside of Europe to address the massive volumes of illegally exported and other unreported end-of-life vehicles.
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