Nornickel seeks new market for palladium in EVs with catalyst for lithium‑sulphur batteries

Reuters

Tue, April 14, 2026 astatine 3:01 AM CDT 1 min read

MOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - Russia's Nornickel said connected Tuesday it aims to implicit the improvement of a palladium-based catalyst ‌for lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries wrong 3 years, perchance creating a ‌major caller root of request for palladium successful electrical vehicles.

Li‑S batteries successful mentation connection ​higher vigor density arsenic good arsenic importantly little outgo and value than lithium-ion batteries presently utilized successful astir EVs. But they person truthful acold failed to scope mass-market accumulation owed to their highly constricted ‌service life.

The task by ⁠Nornickel - the world's largest shaper of palladium, accounting for immoderate 40% of planetary output - is aimed astatine ⁠sharply extending the lifespan of Li-S batteries to much than 1,000 charging cycles.

"I deliberation this is simply a three-year skyline for america to further ​refine the ​technology truthful that it tin ​compete with existing solutions. Overall, ‌lithium-sulphur technologies look rather promising successful presumption of vigor density (driving range),” Nornickel Vice President Vitaly Busko said.

If the exertion proves successful, it would "open up immense caller markets for palladium", Nornickel said, estimating imaginable request of astatine slightest 1.5 cardinal ounces a year.

Nornickel this week ‌opened a palladium laboratory successful Moscow ​to make caller applications for palladium beyond ​autocatalysts for non-electric vehicles, ​which presently relationship for much than 80% of ‌global demand.

The metals elephantine is investing $100 ​million successful a ​programme aimed astatine generating astir 1.7 cardinal troy ounces of caller yearly palladium request by 2030 to 2035, to offset ​potential losses from ‌rising EV adoption, and has already identified a near‑term commercialized ​application nL6N40B0JDin fibreglass accumulation successful China.

(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Editing ​by Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Heavens)