EU-South Africa Partnership

IPA position on EU’s Clean Trade & Investment Partnership (CTIP)

IPA welcomes the Clean Trade & Investment Partnership (CTIP) and the strengthening EU-South Africa cooperation on trade, investment, and the clean energy transition, as the PGMs industry is a good example of long-lasting partnership between South Africa, the world’s largest miner of these metals, and Europe, the global leader in PGM recycling. PGMs mined in South Africa are refined locally, then exported mostly to Europe, the USA and Japan where PGM-containing products such as catalysts and electrolysers are fabricated, used and recycled.

Key Asks

The EU must deepen ties with South Africa, a reliable Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) miner, to secure critical supply for its key industries and support its position as a global leader in PGM recycling.
Creating demand for PGM-based clean tech in the European Union is key to securing long-term supply while supporting the scaling up of Europe’s recycling market.
Any proposed future restrictions on exports from South Africa and additional regulatory requirements on European PGM companies must be avoided to ensure the European Union remains competitive in this sector.

Strategic importance of PGMs to the EU

PGMs are fundamental to many EU policy objectives, including the European Green Deal, the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), and the EU’s broader reindustrialisation agenda. Their indispensable role spans a wide range of critical applications - from reducing emissions via automotive catalytic converters, to enabling hydrogen production and fuel cell technologies, and supporting essential industrial and medical uses, such as pacemakers and anticancer therapies.

The PGM industry provides jobs to around 7,000 EU citizens, and contributes more than 10 billion euros to the Union’s gross domestic product. In South Africa, the PGM sector directly employs close to 175,000 workers, while its sales represent 8.4 billion euros per year.

Supply security and international partnerships

Although the EU is a leader in Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) recycling, secondary material supply alone cannot meet total demand. Imports of mined material, particularly from South Africa, remain essential for the EU’s reindustrialisation agenda.

The EU must therefore deepen ties with South Africa, a reliable PGM miner, to secure supply and retain its position of global leader in PGM recycling.

No PGM mines in Europe: Europe does not have significant primary mining of PGMs, and more than 70% of global PGM mining comes from South Africa.

The EU has access to large volumes of PGMs locally, used in millions of catalyst converters for passenger vehicles and industrial plants: recycling from this “urban mine” already contributes to the EU’s needs for PGMs. However, local demand requires a reliable primary supply, as recycling alone cannot fully meet the EU needs. .

Stimulation of internal PGM demand in clean technologies

PGMs are geologically concentrated, and significant untapped reserves exist in South Africa and other producer countries. However, underinvestment persisted due to weak price signals and uncertain long-term demand, for platinum in particular. Policies that create predictable demand can unlock these resources sustainably and responsibly.

The best lever available to policymakers to support long-term supply security is through stimulating internal demand for PGMs through policies that accelerate the deployment of clean technologies such as hydrogen infrastructure, Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, and other clean technologies which rely heavily on PGMs. This demand creation not only advances the EU’s own climate and energy transition goals but also provides the market certainty needed by investors in both recycling and primary producers to justify investment in new and existing operations.

The EU Hydrogen Strategy targets 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030. PEM electrolysers and fuel cells alike rely on PGMs, making them indispensable to scale up hydrogen use, whether generally or in specific use cases such as transport. But hydrogen vehicle production for heavy-duty applications and passenger cars is currently struggling due to the lack of a level playing field – namely infrastructure and subsidies – with other zero emissions vehicles. In summary, PGM resources are not in themselves geologically scarce, but complementary long-term policy levers are needed to promote future demand and in turn ensure PGM production investment and security of supply.

A global and complex PGMs supply chain

The PGM market is highly specialised, and globally integrated. Ensuring fair and stable access requires responsible trade and long-term partnerships with producer countries. Sudden public-sector interventions – such as tariffs, quotas or even the creation of large strategic reserves – would severely distort market dynamics.

It is also important to recognise the unintended consequences of different policies which impacts the development of the PGM industry as a whole. Any introduction of export taxes must be considered against the needs of the PGM industry. For example, the proposed export taxes in South Africa on chrome concentrate will negatively target an important revenue generator for PGM producers. Any disruption to these established value-chains risks compromising supply security for EU refiners and may jeopardise Europe's ability to achieve its Green Deal and Net-Zero goals - ultimately eroding Europe’s leadership in circular economy innovation and green technology development.

Trade barriers in South Africa such as the proposed export taxes on chrome concentrate or additional regulatory requirements on European PGM companies must therefore be avoided to ensure the EU remains competitive in this sector. This is why establishing a strong relationship with South Africa as a privileged EU trade partner is essential both for now and the future.

The EU Stockpiling Strategy, driven by concerns about supply chain vulnerabilities and the need for a secure, domestic source of these materials, must not disrupt the PGM value chains, and prior industry consultation is paramount to protect this European industrial leadership.

Policy Recommendations

As stated in the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), PGMs are essential to several core EU policy objectives and underpin key legislative initiatives in the fields of climate and environmental protection, clean energy, and strategic industrial resilience. By cooperating with South Africa in the PGMs sector, the EU can support its own economic security, industrial and environmental policy objectives.

The IPA therefore recommends the European Union to:

Build a strong partnership with South Africa, to safeguard the PGMs’ vital industrial supply chains in the near term, and advance common sustainability objectives in the long term,
Develop the EU infrastructure and subsidies for hydrogen vehicle production including heavy-duty applications as well as wider mobility solutions, to stimulate the EU’s demand for PGMs, and in turn investment in South Africa’s mining sector.
Avoid future restrictions on critical raw materials exported by South Africa, and additional regulatory requirements on European PGM companies, especially in the context of the EU Stockpiling Strategy,
Align Critical Raw Material Act (CRMA) and Global Gateway with South Africa’s development goals.