Life cycle assessment

Assessing the Life Cycle of Platinum Group Metals

The PGM industry is currently conducting its third Life Cycle Assessment, on 2022 production data, with the participation of 10 out of 12 members. We expect results to be available in Q2-Q3/2024. The study is performed on the primary production of platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium and iridium, and the secondary production of platinum, palladium, rhodium and ruthenium. 

Second IPA LCA Study (2017 data)

In 2018, the PGM  industry has conducted a second industry-wide LCA based on 2017 production data and adapted to new reporting requirements. The study was reviewed according to ISO 14040 (2006) & 14044 (2006) and ISO/TS 14071 (2014) by and independent technical expert. The LCA has been conducted on platinum, palladium, and rhodium, since these are the most relevant metals for application in catalytic converters, an application accounting for over 70% of demand in 2021. Data has been updated in 2022 with new upstream data (energy etc.) from the LCA for Experts/GaBi database, reflecting changes in the electricity grid and other areas. Data coverage has been expanded to primary ruthenium and iridium to reflect the growing interest in these metals. Reliable data on iridium is particularly relevant given the rapid development towards a hydrogen economy in the EU, and the upscaling of hydrogen projects based on large-scale water electrolysis. There have also been some modifications to the original secondary (recycling) data of platinum, palladium and rhodium, as more pre-processing data could be included during the recounting, and a more realistic approach to waste stream calculations has been adopted. Results tables are shown below. The data is available in the LCA for Experts/GaBi professional database or upon request from IPA (see LCA questionnaire).

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions document for further information: FAQs.

The results ouf our second LCA are presented in the Environmental Profile of PGMs and the LCA Fact Sheet.

Eleven out of twelve IPA members took part in the study, representing the primary producers of PGMs (95% representation), the secondary producers of PGMs (>70%) as well as the fabricators of autocatalysts (90% representation). Hence, the LCA study offers a remarkably high representation of the global platinum group metals production, with a high geographical and technological coverage.

The LCA Fact Sheet on Iridium and Ruthenium with updated data on Pt, Pd, Rh, can be downloaded here.

For access to iridium and ruthenium data please use our LCA Data Questionnaire or get in touch with Tania Bossi at tania.bossi(at)ipa-news.

The IPA LCA followed the "cradle-to-gate" approach which covers processes within the life cycle of the product from the extraction of the raw materials to the finished product.The separate applicaton study on autocatalyst production covers Euro-6d-TEMP modelled diesel and gasoline vehicles with an average lifetime of 160,000 km.