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 before. The silvery-white, lustrous metal is softer and lighter than platinum, yet surpasses it in importance in several industrial fields of application. You can follow the live palladium price on this page in real time.

Properties and chemistry

Palladium has an extraordinary property that distinguishes it from almost all other metals: at room temperature it can absorb and release up to 900 times its own volume of hydrogen. This hydrogen permeability makes it an important material in hydrogen research and in membrane reactors.

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

Main application: automotive catalytic converters

Around 80-85% of worldwide palladium demand goes into use in 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 particularly effective at the low exhaust temperatures immediately after a cold start, which is why it has largely replaced platinum in petrol catalytic converters. Diesel catalytic converters, by contrast, preferentially use platinum.

Tightened emissions legislation (Euro 6, China 6, EPA Tier 3) has continuously increased the palladium loading per vehicle in recent years and was a major driver of the price jump that at times pushed palladium above the gold price between 2016 and 2022.

Further industrial applications

Alongside automotive technology, palladium is used in:

• Electronics: Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) in smartphones, laptops and vehicle electronics require palladium-silver inner electrodes.
• Chemical industry: Palladium catalysts (e.g. Pd/C, Pd(PPh3)4) are key tools in organic synthesis, for example in Suzuki and Heck reactions.
• Dental technology: Palladium-bearing dental alloys were historically used frequently but are losing importance to ceramics.
• Jewellery and white gold: Palladium white gold (from 500 Pd) has been displacing the more allergenic nickel white gold since the 2000s.
• Hydrogen technology: Membranes for the pure production of hydrogen and research into solid-state hydrogen storage.

Extraction and market structure

Palladium is obtained predominantly as a by-product of nickel and platinum mining. Russia (mainly Norilsk Nickel) and South Africa together account for over 75% of world production. This geographical concentration gives the market a structural sensitivity of supply to political and operational risks.

Supply is significantly supplemented by recycling - primarily from end-of-life vehicle catalytic converters: secondary palladium covers around 25-30% of total demand. Recovery from electronic scrap is gaining importance within the framework of urban mining.

Palladium as an investment metal

For investors, palladium is available as physical metal in the form of bars and coins. Well-known palladium coins are the Canadian Maple Leaf (1 oz, .9995 fineness) and the Russian Ballerina palladium rouble. Physical palladium is subject to 20% VAT in the United Kingdom.

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

Important: investments in palladium - as in all precious metals - are subject to price risk. This entry does not constitute investment or tax advice; for tax questions (Capital Gains Tax, VAT) please consult a professional 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 unit conversions between grams, troy ounces, pennyweight and other units of measurement, the unit converter is available.

In brief

Palladium is the most important industrial metal of the platinum group and its demand is largely determined by the automotive industry and emissions legislation - a narrow supply from few producing countries meets a structurally high, hard-to-substitute demand.