(Yicai Global) June 29 -- The head of the agency running the Lingang Special Area, an economic space in Shanghai's free trade zone, said the area plans to develop a future industry around platinum group metals.

Lingang will use science and technology to promote the platinum industry, forming greater advantages in industry clusters and development, Yuan Guohua, chairman of Lingang Economic Development, said at a forum yesterday. These metals are widely used in the new energy industry and are highly relevant to the area's industrial development, Yuan added.

Shanghai Lingang Platinum Group Metals Technology, Platinum Group Metals New International Trade, and the Innovation Center project have all been set up in Lingang, Yuan noted.

Lingang has formed cutting-edge industry clusters, including for artificial intelligence, biomedicine, civil aviation, new energy vehicles, and hydrogen energy, with some having a market size of over CNY100 billion (USD13.8 billion), Yuan pointed out. Lingang's total output value may reach around CNY450 billion this year, he added.

With the recent development of new energy industries, demand for platinum group metals has continued to grow, sources told Yicai Global. Platinum can be used in hydrogen fuel cells due to its unique catalytic properties, and also as a catalytic converter in fossil fuel vehicles to help reduce harmful emissions, they pointed out.

China is the world's largest consumer and importer of platinum group metals, with the country’s consumption accounting for nearly 30 percent of the global total, the sources said.

Similar to silver where a new use in photovoltaic solar panels led to 25% of silver demand being in that segment, platinum will see a new demand segment grow to over 25% in the 2030’s, Trevor Raymond, chief executive of the World Platinum Investment Council, said at yesterday’s forum. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev