Johnson Matthey PGM Recycling Strategy 2025: Dominating the Circular Economy for Clean Energy

From Projects to Production: Johnson Matthey’s Shift to Commercial-Scale PGM Recycling

Johnson Matthey has accelerated its transition from a diversified chemical company into a focused Platinum Group Metal (PGM) circularity leader, shifting from foundational partnerships in hydrogen to aggressive capital investment in core refining capacity and broader clean fuel applications. This pivot underscores a strategy to dominate the supply of critical, low-carbon materials essential for the energy transition. The company’s actions demonstrate a clear progression from securing a position in future markets to building the industrial backbone required to lead them.

• Between 2021 and 2024, the company established its presence in the emerging hydrogen economy through strategic partnerships like the one with Plug Power for Catalyst Coated Membrane (CCM) manufacturing and an investment in Enapter for Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzers, while launching its first fuel cell recycling operations in China. This phase was about securing future growth options and validating its technology in new applications.
• Since January 2025, the strategy has pivoted towards solidifying its core infrastructure with major investments in a new PGM refinery and the Royston facility expansion, demonstrating a move to secure feedstock and dominate the refining market itself. This move from partnership-led growth to direct capital expenditure signals confidence in the long-term demand for recycled PGMs.
• This shift is also visible in its technology applications, moving from a primary focus on hydrogen components to enabling a wider range of clean fuels through partnerships with SunGas Renewables for biomethanol and the launch of its eMERALD™ flowsheet for e-methanol production. This diversification leverages its core PGM catalyst expertise across the entire clean energy spectrum, from transport to industrial chemicals.

Johnson Matthey’s Strategic Divestments and Capital Re-Allocation in PGM Recycling

Johnson Matthey’s investment strategy reveals a decisive pivot, divesting non-core assets to fund major capital projects in its core PGM Services division. The sale of its Medical Device Components, Catalyst Technologies, and battery materials businesses unlocked significant capital. This capital is now being deployed into a new world-class PGM refinery and capacity expansions, positioning the company for long-term dominance in the circular economy and reinforcing its commitment to its most profitable and strategic business units.

Table: Johnson Matthey’s Strategic Investments and Divestments (2022–2025)

How Johnson Matthey’s 2025 Partnerships Catalyze the Global Energy Transition

Johnson Matthey’s partnerships have evolved from securing a foothold in emerging clean technologies to solidifying its role as a central technology provider across the energy transition spectrum. Recent collaborations with Bosch, SunGas Renewables, and research bodies like the Royal Society demonstrate a strategy to embed its PGM expertise and circularity model into the core of the hydrogen, sustainable fuels, and advanced recycling ecosystems. These alliances are crucial for scaling new technologies and securing long-term demand for its specialized products and services.

Table: Johnson Matthey’s Key Clean Technology Partnerships (2021–2025)

Johnson Matthey’s Global PGM Recycling Footprint: From China to Europe and the US

Johnson Matthey is strategically concentrating its PGM recycling and clean technology activities in key regulatory and industrial hubs, evolving from initial market entry in China to fortifying its core industrial capacity in the UK and expanding its partnership reach in the US and mainland Europe. This geographic strategy aligns investment with markets that have strong policy support for decarbonization and established industrial partners, maximizing the company’s return on its technological and capital commitments.

• The earlier period from 2021 to 2024 saw a significant strategic move into Asia, highlighted by the October 2022 launch of a fuel cell recycling plant in Zhangjiagang, China, securing a critical foothold in the world’s largest potential market for hydrogen vehicles. This move established a circular economy model in a region with limited primary PGM resources.
• From 2025, the focus has intensified on its home base in the UK with major capital investments in a new PGM refinery and the expansion of its Royston facility, signaling a move to consolidate and enhance its primary processing and recycling capabilities at the heart of its global operations.
• Concurrently, partnership activity shows a strong focus on the United States and Europe, with collaborations like the USA BioEnergy project in Texas, the SunGas Renewables biomethanol plant in the US, and the Bosch hydrogen collaboration in Europe targeting high-growth decarbonization markets.

Johnson Matthey’s PGM Technology: From R&D Breakthroughs to Commercial-Scale Deployment

Johnson Matthey’s PGM technology has rapidly matured from lab-scale R&D and pilot applications to full-scale commercial offerings and industrial process integration, validating its strategy of leveraging deep chemical expertise for the energy transition. The progression shows a clear pathway from developing novel recycling processes to deploying them in commercial products and large-scale clean energy projects, solidifying its role as a technology enabler.

• The period between 2021 and 2024 was characterized by foundational R&D and early commercialization, exemplified by the lab-scale demonstration of HyRefine™ technology for fuel cell recycling and the launch of its 100% recycled PGM product offering based on a mass balance methodology.
• The current phase marks a clear shift to industrial-scale application and technology diversification, with the launch of the eMERALD™ flowsheet for large-scale e-methanol and providing technology for biomethanol plants with SunGas Renewables showing its catalysts are now enabling commercial clean fuel projects.
• The company continues to push the innovation frontier with collaborations like the Royal Society fellowship to develop low-energy electrochemical extraction and the announced sonochemical method that recovers 92% of platinum, indicating a robust pipeline of next-generation recycling technologies.

Table: Johnson Matthey PGM Recycling SWOT Analysis (2021–2025)

Future Outlook: Johnson Matthey’s Path to PGM Circularity and Hydrogen Leadership

The critical path forward for Johnson Matthey hinges on the successful execution of its major capital projects while simultaneously accelerating its pivot into the hydrogen economy to offset the inevitable long-term decline of its traditional autocatalyst feedstock. The company’s future success will be defined by its ability to build new, sustainable PGM recycling loops in emerging green-tech sectors, ensuring its continued market leadership.

• The successful and on-budget completion of the new world-class PGM refinery, a cornerstone of its 2025 strategy, is the single most important milestone to watch; its completion will unlock significant cash flow as CAPEX is projected to drop to approximately £120 million by FY28.
• The company must rapidly commercialize its hydrogen-focused technologies, such as the innovative sonochemical recycling process and scale up activities with partners like Bosch, to build a robust new recycling stream from fuel cells and electrolyzers as the EV transition accelerates.
• Continued PGM market dynamics, particularly the forecast platinum supply deficit, will provide strong financial tailwinds for its PGM Services division, increasing the value of its recycling leadership and likely driving further strategic supply and recycling contracts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Johnson Matthey’s main strategic shift since the start of 2025?
Since early 2025, Johnson Matthey has pivoted from securing its position through partnerships in emerging sectors like hydrogen to making aggressive direct capital investments in its core PGM refining infrastructure. Key examples include the investment in a new world-class PGM refinery and the expansion of its Royston facility, demonstrating a move to solidify its industrial backbone and dominate the supply of recycled PGMs.

How is Johnson Matthey funding its large-scale investments in PGM recycling?
The company is funding these major projects by strategically divesting non-core assets. The sale of its Medical Device Components business for US$700 million, its Catalyst Technologies business, and its Gold and Silver Refining business for $186 million has unlocked significant capital. This capital is being re-allocated to strengthen its most profitable and strategic division, PGM Services.

Why is PGM recycling so important to the clean energy transition?
Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) are critical catalysts for many clean energy technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers for green hydrogen production, and the creation of sustainable fuels like SAF and e-methanol. Recycling these valuable materials creates a secure, low-carbon supply chain (with a 98% lower carbon footprint than mining), which is essential for scaling up these technologies and building a circular economy.

How is Johnson Matthey preparing for the long-term decline of autocatalysts from traditional cars as a source of recycled PGMs?
Johnson Matthey is proactively mitigating this threat by positioning itself at the center of the hydrogen economy’s circular supply chain. By partnering with companies like Plug Power, Enapter, and Bosch, and developing new recycling technologies for fuel cells and electrolyzers, it is creating new, sustainable recycling loops to replace the eventual decline in feedstock from traditional vehicles.

Beyond hydrogen, what other clean energy markets is Johnson Matthey targeting?
Johnson Matthey is applying its PGM catalyst expertise to a wide range of clean fuels. This includes providing technology for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production in partnership with USA BioEnergy, enabling biomethanol production with SunGas Renewables, and launching its own eMERALD™ flowsheet for commercial-scale e-methanol production. This strategy leverages its core competency across the entire clean energy spectrum.