Ruthenium is classified as one of Earth's rarest metals, and its primary production is predominantly as a byproduct of mining operations for platinum and nickel. This byproduct nature means that ruthenium's supply is inherently inelastic to its own demand and is instead dictated by the production rates and market conditions of these more abundant primary metals. The vast majority of global PGM reserves, from which ruthenium is extracted, are concentrated in South Africa, particularly within the Bushveld Complex, with estimated reserves of 63,000,000 kilograms in 2023. Russia stands as another significant global producer of PGM-containing mined material, and Canada also contributes to the global supply. In 2023, South Africa alone accounted for over 50% of global exports of unwrought or powder iridium, osmium, and ruthenium.
Ruthenium's status as a byproduct means its supply cannot easily respond to direct demand signals from the hydrogen industry. Production volumes are primarily driven by the economics and operational realities of platinum and nickel mining. This inherent inelasticity makes ruthenium supply vulnerable to the market dynamics of other metals. However, the commissioning of major new PGM mining complexes like Platreef and the identification of other potential projects represent a crucial opportunity. These new primary sources could significantly increase the overall PGM output, leading to a corresponding increase in byproduct ruthenium supply, potentially offering a much-needed buffer against rising demand from emerging sectors. The realization of these projects will be key to long-term supply stability. While the byproduct nature of ruthenium creates inherent supply rigidity, the strategic development and ramp-up of new large-scale PGM projects could offer a significant boost to global ruthenium availability. This could alleviate some future supply concerns for the hydrogen economy, but it remains fundamentally tied to the broader PGM market's health and investment cycles.
Recycling plays an increasingly vital role in the overall ruthenium supply, with recovery from end-of-life products such as automobile catalytic converters and electronics contributing to the market. The broader PGM recycling industry is well-established, with approximately 120,000 kilograms of palladium and platinum recovered globally from new and old scrap in both 2023 and 2024.
Advancements in ruthenium refining, recycling, and recovery techniques are recognized as critical for ensuring its sustainable use. Cutting-edge methods, including solvent extraction, ion exchange, and electrochemical processes, are enhancing the purity and efficiency of ruthenium separation from other metals, making the recycling process more environmentally friendly. Innovations such as plasma arc refining and hydrometallurgical treatments further improve recovery rates and purification, thereby extending the lifecycle of ruthenium-based products. Crucially for the hydrogen economy, research has demonstrated high recovery yields for ruthenium (up to 82%) from spent Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrodes through hydrometallurgical approaches. The recovered PGM salts can then be effectively reused as precursors for manufacturing new catalysts, establishing a circular economy for these critical materials. Companies like Nel are actively implementing recycling programs for PEM stacks to recover and reuse PGMs, demonstrating a practical commitment to circularity.
Given the inherent limitations of primary ruthenium supply due to its byproduct status, secondary production through recycling becomes a strategic imperative. The demonstrated high recovery rates of ruthenium from critical hydrogen technologies like PEM electrolyzers mean that the hydrogen industry can, to a significant extent, create its own future supply from its own end-of-life products. This effectively decouples a portion of the ruthenium supply from the volatile primary mining sector, acting as a "supply multiplier" without requiring increased mining output. This is particularly vital for mitigating potential bottlenecks as the hydrogen economy scales up. Therefore, aggressive investment in and standardization of PGM recycling infrastructure, specifically tailored for electrolyzers and fuel cells, is not merely an environmental best practice but a fundamental requirement for the long-term material security and economic viability of the hydrogen economy. This "urban mining" approach can significantly reduce future reliance on virgin ruthenium and enhance supply resilience.
The geographical concentration of primary ruthenium production in South Africa and Russia exposes the global supply chain to significant geopolitical and operational risks. Political stability in these key producing regions directly impacts the flow of ruthenium, influencing its availability and market value.
Recent disruptions underscore these vulnerabilities: South African PGM production experienced decreases in both 2023 (due to electricity and rail transport disruptions) and 2024 (owing to declining prices, higher costs associated with deep-level mining, labor disputes, and ongoing electricity supply disruptions). Similarly, Russian PGM production decreased in 2024 due to natural disasters, lower metal grades, and issues related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and planned metallurgical plant outages. These factors contribute to price volatility, as evidenced by ruthenium's price descent to a three-and-a-half-year low of $390/oz in August 2024 before recovering to above $460/oz by year-end. In Q1 2025, ruthenium prices in North America showed an increase, partly due to "potential slowdowns in PGM mining".
The hydrogen economy represents a significant new demand frontier for ruthenium, primarily driven by its catalytic properties in key production and transportation processes.
A critical application is in Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers, where ruthenium acts as a catalyst for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) at the anode. While iridium oxide (IrO2) is traditionally used due to its stability, it is a highly scarce and expensive resource. Ruthenium, being more catalytically active and cheaper than iridium, presents a promising alternative.
Historically, ruthenium oxide (RuO2) alone lacked stability in the challenging acidic conditions of PEM electrolyzer stacks. However, innovative solutions, such as the ruthenium-iridium oxide hybrid catalyst developed by Heraeus and Sibanye-Stillwater, combine ruthenium's high activity with enhanced stability. This breakthrough can achieve up to 50 times higher mass activity than iridium oxide and enable an 85-90% saving on iridium, significantly reducing material costs and capital expenditure per GW for hydrogen production.
Similarly, research by IIT and BeDimensional has shown that using just 40 milligrams of ruthenium per kilowatt in alkaline electrolyzers can significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs, in stark contrast to the much higher loadings of platinum (up to 1 gram/kW) and iridium (1-2.5 grams/kW) typically found in PEM electrolyzers. Nickel-stabilized ruthenium dioxide (Ni-RuO2) has also emerged as a promising alternative to iridium for OER in acidic PEMWE, demonstrating over 1,000 hours of stability.
Another vital application is in ammonia cracking, which facilitates hydrogen transportation. Ruthenium has solidified its status as an indispensable catalyst in this process, enabling lower temperature reactions and high conversion rates, leading to energy savings and longer catalyst lifespans. This positions ruthenium as a strong contender in the hydrogen economy, catering to demand from fuel cell technology, chemical manufacturing, and metal processing industries. Liquid ammonia is emerging as a competitive renewable fuel for decarbonizing transport and power generation, and proprietary ruthenium-catalyzed cracking technology allows for on-demand hydrogen production from ammonia.
In fuel cells, platinum-ruthenium (PtRu) supported alloy electrocatalysts have demonstrated improved tolerance to CO-contaminated hydrogen fuel streams compared to pure platinum at the anode of low-temperature PEM fuel cells. Platinum-ruthenium also holds significance as a catalyst for methanol oxidation in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFCs). However, ruthenium alone is easily deactivated or dissolved under oxidation potential, making it less suitable for standalone use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
Ruthenium is positioned as both an enabler and a potential bottleneck for the hydrogen economy. Its superior catalytic activity and lower cost relative to iridium make it crucial for reducing the capital expenditure and improving the efficiency of hydrogen production via electrolysis. By enabling significant iridium thrifting and offering high efficiency in ammonia cracking, ruthenium directly contributes to making green hydrogen more economically feasible and scalable. However, if the hydrogen economy's demand for ruthenium escalates rapidly and outpaces the ability of primary and secondary supply to expand, this critical enabler could quickly become a supply bottleneck. The challenge lies in balancing the metal's transformative potential with its inherent scarcity and the competition from established sectors, necessitating strategic management of its deployment and continuous innovation.
Projections for hydrogen demand indicate a substantial increase in the coming decades, which will inevitably impact the demand for critical materials like ruthenium. The potential output from projects that have received a final investment decision suggests a fivefold increase in low-emissions hydrogen production by 2030, reaching more than 4 million tonnes per year (Mt/y). Looking further ahead, total hydrogen demand could rise sevenfold by 2050, potentially accounting for 10% of total energy consumption. To achieve a net-zero emissions scenario, approximately 50 Mt of hydrogen production based on electrolysis and more than 15 Mt from fossil fuels with Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) would be required by 2030, necessitating an installed capacity of 560 GW of electrolyzers.
Despite these ambitious projections, current policies are insufficient to meet the full potential demand. Only 24% of the projected 2030 clean hydrogen demand is expected to materialize with existing policies across key regions. The majority of this uptake (75%) is anticipated to come from established uses like refining and ammonia production, where hydrogen is already consumed but will transition to cleaner forms. New emerging applications, such as in steel production, synthetic fuels, and heavy road transport, are expected to drive the increase in clean hydrogen demand primarily between 2030 and 2040.
The projected exponential growth of hydrogen demand, particularly for clean hydrogen production via electrolysis, presents a significant mismatch with the inherently more linear or byproduct-dependent nature of ruthenium supply. While technological advancements aim to reduce the ruthenium intensity per unit of hydrogen produced, the sheer scale of the projected hydrogen economy means that even small per-unit demands for ruthenium could translate into very large absolute quantities.
This creates a fundamental challenge: a rapid increase in hydrogen production could quickly exhaust any existing ruthenium surplus and put immense pressure on primary and secondary supply chains. This situation underscores the critical need for aggressive demand-side management through PGM thrift and the accelerated development of non-PGM alternatives. Without these measures, the cost and availability of ruthenium could become a significant limiting factor for the hydrogen industry's ambitious growth targets, potentially hindering its role in global decarbonization.
Ruthenium occupies a paradoxical position within the hydrogen economy—as both a powerful enabler of next-generation clean energy technologies and a potential bottleneck due to its constrained and geopolitically sensitive supply. Its primary production as a byproduct of platinum and nickel mining renders its availability largely unresponsive to direct demand, while geopolitical instability in key supplier regions such as South Africa and Russia further complicates supply security. Nonetheless, the advent of large-scale PGM projects like Platreef, coupled with a growing pipeline of possible new developments, offers a promising avenue to modestly increase future supply.
However, the most strategic lever to ensure long-term ruthenium availability lies in secondary production. Advanced recycling methods, especially those applied to PEM electrolyzers and fuel cells, can recover high yields of ruthenium, creating a circular economy that reduces dependence on volatile primary markets. This form of “urban mining” not only supports environmental sustainability but becomes an economic imperative as hydrogen technologies scale.
Still, even with improved recovery and increased recycling, the expected exponential growth in hydrogen demand may outpace the realistic expansion of ruthenium supply, particularly if ruthenium remains central to catalyst formulations. The material’s catalytic superiority over iridium and its potential for cost reduction in green hydrogen production are offset by its limited availability and susceptibility to supply chain shocks.
To safeguard the hydrogen economy’s scalability and resilience, ruthenium’s use must be managed with precision. This includes aggressive implementation of thrifting strategies, accelerated development of alternative non-PGM catalysts, and institutional investment in global recycling infrastructure. In essence, the hydrogen economy’s future will depend not only on ruthenium’s remarkable properties but on our ability to steward its use wisely, recycle it effectively, and innovate beyond its constraints.