Implats: Fuel-cells fired plant in the pipeline

Published Apr 2, 2015

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IMPALA Platinum (Implats) will build a power plant fired by fuel cells at its South African refinery as the world’s largest producers of the metal seek to boost demand amid falling prices. The cells, driven by excess hydrogen from the refining process, would use platinum as a catalyst to generate an initial 1.8 megawatts at the Springs-based plant, Implats said yesterday. Wider use of platinum in fuel cells will bolster demand for the metal that is trading 17 percent below its price at the beginning of 2014. Implats’s project will also help the company to weather energy shortages as power utility Eskom struggles to meet demand. In a second phase, Implats planned to install cells that run on natural gas and hydrogen to produce 22MW, enough to power the entire plant, the company said. It said in the future it might also use cells as the main energy source for its underground mining equipment. Anglo American Platinum is testing the world’s first fuel cell-driven grid to power a small community. It is also developing fuel-cell systems for mining firms such as locomotives. South Africa has more than 70 percent of the world’s platinum reserves. – Bloomberg

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