JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The catalytic properties of platinum and palladium are being researched and developed as a potential source of significant upliftment for drones.

The higher energy density that platinum and palladium can provide is being viewed as an extender of operating time, increased payload capacity and improved performance.

A newly funded development programme will focus on manufacturing and testing pouch-cell prototypes in several performance configurations, optimising catalyst formulations and evaluating performance in target applications that include drones.

The resulting data will inform further commercialisation plans, the Toronto- and New York-listed Platinum Group Metals Limited stated on Thursday, October 1, when it reported that its majority-owned subsidiary, Lion Battery Technologies, had completed the first phase of independent testing and scale-up of its proprietary platinum- and palladium-based lithium-sulphur battery technology.

Headed by CEO Frank Hallam, Platinum Group Metals is developing South Africa’s Waterberg platinum group metals (PGMs) and base metals project in Limpopo, together with joint venture partners Mnombo Wethu Consultants, Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security, and Impala Platinum.

While this takes place, next-generation battery technologies using platinum and palladium are being advanced by Lion Battery Technologies, in which the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Valterra Platinum is a 48% shareholder. Valterra mines, smelts and refines PGMs in South Africa and Zimbabwe and has integrated marketing hubs in London, Singapore and Shanghai.

Research and development has reached the level of pilot-scale manufacturing of commercial pouch-cell prototypes for high-energy drone and other applications to serve as stepping stones for scaling advanced battery chemistries.

Independent testing by the Battery Innovation Center in Newberry, Indiana, has validated Lion's proprietary electrode technology in prototype lithium-sulphur cells, with palladium-rich formulations having delivered the strongest overall performance.

"At the heart of lithium-sulphur battery chemistry are complex reactions that directly influence performance and after more than five years of research and testing, the results show that the catalytic properties of platinum and palladium can help address critical challenges in this chemistry and deliver meaningful performance improvements," Florida International University’s Dr Bilal El-Zahab stated in a release to Mining Weekly.  

El-Zahab is supported by a team of battery and materials science specialists and postdoctoral researchers, with members of the independent advisory board that provides additional strategic guidance and technical validation including Dr Seth Miller, a PhD chemist, entrepreneur and consultant, and Sam Jaffe, who serves as business development and product VP at Mana Battery, a sodium-ion cell and electrolyte developer.

To date, the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted eight patents related to the technology, with additional applications pending.