Palladium

Palladium belongs to the group of platinum group metals and was discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston — named after the asteroid Pallas, found shortly beforehand. The silvery-white, lustrous metal is softer and lighter than platinum, yet outstrips it in importance across several industrial fields. You can track the live palladium price on this page in real time.

Properties and chemistry

Palladium has a remarkable trait that sets it apart from almost every other metal: at room temperature it can absorb and release up to 900 times its own volume in hydrogen. This hydrogen permeability makes it a valued material in hydrogen research and in membrane reactors.

Compared with its sister metals in the platinum group, palladium reacts somewhat more readily with chemicals. It dissolves in hot concentrated sulphuric acid and in aqua regia, but is stable towards air and water at normal temperatures. Surface tarnishing is possible with fine powders, though for compact metal it is practically negligible.

Main use: automotive catalytic converters

Around 80-85 % of global palladium demand goes into three-way catalytic converters for petrol cars. Together with rhodium, palladium converts the pollutants carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and unburnt hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water:

2 CO + O2  ->  2 CO2
2 NOx  ->  N2 + x O2
CnHm + O2  ->  CO2 + H2O

Palladium is especially effective at the low exhaust temperatures immediately after a cold start, which is why it has largely replaced platinum in petrol catalysts. Diesel catalysts, by contrast, favour platinum.

Tightening emissions legislation (Euro 6, China 6, EPA Tier 3) has steadily raised the palladium loading per vehicle in recent years and was a key driver of the price surge that at times pushed palladium above the gold price between 2016 and 2022.

Further industrial uses

Beyond automotive technology, palladium is used in:

• Electronics: multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) in smartphones, laptops and vehicle electronics rely on palladium-silver inner electrodes.
• Chemical industry: palladium catalysts (e.g. Pd/C, Pd(PPh3)4) are key tools in organic synthesis, for instance in Suzuki and Heck reactions.
• Dental technology: palladium-bearing dental alloys were once widely used but are losing ground to ceramics.
• Jewellery and white gold: palladium white gold (from 500 per mille Pd) has been displacing the more allergenic nickel white gold since the 2000s.
• Hydrogen technology: membranes for purifying hydrogen and research into solid-state hydrogen storage.

Extraction and market structure

Palladium is won predominantly as a by-product of nickel and platinum mining. Russia (chiefly Norilsk Nickel) and South Africa together account for over 75 % of world output. This geographic concentration lends the market a structural sensitivity to political and operational risk on the supply side.

Supply is significantly supplemented by recycling — mainly from end-of-life vehicle catalysts: secondary palladium covers roughly 25-30 % of total demand. Recovery from electronic scrap is gaining importance within urban mining.

Palladium as an investment metal

For investors, palladium is available as a physical metal in the form of bars and coins. Well-known palladium coins include the Canadian Maple Leaf (1 oz, .9995 fineness) and the Russian Ballerina palladium rouble. In Ireland, physical palladium carries the standard VAT rate of 23 % (VAT Consolidation Act 2010), unlike investment gold, which is VAT-exempt.

The palladium price is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce on the NYMEX/COMEX and through OTC markets. Price discovery follows the spot market principle; the LBMA publishes daily reference prices. The long-term price path is shown by the historical palladium prices.

Important: investments in palladium — as in all precious metals — carry price risk. This entry is not investment or tax advice; for tax questions (Capital Gains Tax, VAT) consult a qualified adviser.

Melt value and weight conversion

You can determine the current material value of palladium alloys (e.g. jewellery or dental alloys) with the melt value calculator. For conversions between grams, troy ounces, pennyweight and other units, the unit converter is on hand.

In brief

Palladium is the most significant industrial metal of the platinum group, and its demand is shaped decisively by the automotive sector and emissions legislation — a thin supply from a handful of producing countries meets a structurally high, hard-to-substitute demand.