It was a quiet trading day across the platinum group metals on Thursday. Platinum eased as the dollar firmed on Federal Reserve rate-hike bets, while the week's more substantive PGM development came from the hydrogen electrolyzer supply chain, where Smoltek and Hyworx moved to cut the amount of iridium needed to build PEM electrolyzer stacks.
Top stories#
Smoltek and Hyworx sign LOI to cut iridium use in PEM electrolyzer stacks#
Smoltek Nanotech Holding AB said its subsidiary Smoltek Hydrogen AB has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with German electrolyzer developer Hyworx GmbH with the goal of jointly developing more cost-efficient, high-performance PEM electrolyzers, according to Hydrogen Central's report dated 11 November 2026.
The partners aim to integrate Smoltek's proprietary porous transport electrode technology into Hyworx's next-generation electrolyzer stacks to reduce iridium consumption and validate performance and cost benefits at stack level.
The collaboration will initially focus on adapting Smoltek's PTE technology to a 4 kW Hyworx electrolyzer stack, with stack integration targeted for the second half of 2027.
Smoltek's acting chief executive, Oskar Säfström, said working with Hyworx allows the company to evaluate its electrode technology in a stack developer's own product platform.
Iridium coats PEM electrolyzer anodes and is the scarcest PGM, with South Africa supplying more than 80% of world primary supply from a global total of only around 7.1 tonnes a year, so any technology that lowers the metal's loading per stack is relevant to the long-term cost and supply outlook for green hydrogen.
Sibanye-Stillwater's US strike still shaping the supply picture (context)#
Older context remains relevant to the supply backdrop this week. Sibanye-Stillwater has cut its 2026 production forecast for its US platinum group metal operations in Montana after a five-week strike disrupted mining near Nye and processing at its Columbus facilities, Business Day reported on 6 November 2026.
The miner now expects 245,000 to 255,000 ounces from its palladium-heavy US operations, down from a prior 280,000 to 300,000 ounce guidance, after the five-week strike ended on October 7, according to Finimize. The company also raised its cost forecasts following the disruption, miningmx reported.
KAIST ruthenium catalyst for hydrogen production (context)#
Also older but still circulating this week: a research team led by Professor Jinwoo Lee at KAIST's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering developed a water electrolysis catalyst based on an "atom-layer neighbor" structure that groups ruthenium atoms in a single atomic layer, techxplore reported on the original late-October release.
The approach is a laboratory-stage substitution strategy for platinum catalysts in electrolysis, not yet a commercial product.
Prices and market context#
Platinum traded at US$1,539/oz on Thursday, down from US$1,560/oz in the prior session, according to commodity strategist SP Angel's daily market note dated 12 November 2026.
The move tracked broader dollar strength rather than any PGM-specific shift: markets fully expect a quarter-point Fed rate hike in December, with odds of a 50-basis-point move on the rise, and gold fell for a third day, losing more than 3.7% over the past two sessions, SP Angel said.
For structural context, the World Platinum Investment Council's Platinum Quarterly, published 9 September 2026, moved its 2026 global platinum forecast to a 265 koz surplus from the 297 koz deficit it had projected in its Q1 2026 edition, while revising the 2025 deficit to more than 1 million ounces and putting above-ground stocks at roughly 3.4 months of demand by year-end.
What to watch#
Smoltek and Hyworx have targeted the second half of 2027 for integrating the low-iridium electrode technology into a 4 kW test stack, a milestone worth tracking for the iridium demand outlook.
Heraeus is expected to publish its next annual precious metals forecast this month, continuing its established November cadence, which should offer an updated industry view on platinum, palladium and iridium. Investors will also watch for further detail from Sibanye-Stillwater on the pace of recovery at its US operations following the Montana strike.
For background on the metals in this report, see DailyPlatinum's guides to the platinum price today, iridium price, ruthenium (Ru) properties and uses, Sibanye-Stillwater's production profile and platinum group metals overview.
Sources#
- SP Angel market note via Share Talk, 12 November 2026, https://www.share-talk.com/sp-angel-todays-market-view-thursday-12th-november-2026/
- Hydrogen Central, "Smoltek and Hyworx sign LOI to validate low-iridium electrodes in PEM electrolyzer stacks," 11 November 2026, https://hydrogen-central.com/smoltek-and-hyworx-sign-loi-to-validate-low-iridium-electrodes-in-pem-electrolyzer-stacks/
- Business Day, "Sibanye cuts US PGM production forecast after five-week strike," 6 November 2026, https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2026-11-06-sibanye-cuts-us-pgm-production-forecast-after-five-week-strike/
- Finimize, "Sibanye Cuts 2026 US PGM Output Forecast After Strike," 6 November 2026, https://finimize.com/content/sibanye-cuts-2026-us-pgm-output-forecast-after-strike
- techxplore, "Ruthenium catalyst matches platinum in hydrogen production while using far less precious metal," late October 2026, https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-ruthenium-catalyst-platinum-hydrogen-production.html