Tool
What would it take?
Pick a technology and a quantity. The calculator multiplies out the material bill and puts each total next to the entire world’s annual production of that material — which is usually the number that changes how the answer feels.
1 × Three-Way Catalytic Converter — The ceramic honeycomb in an exhaust that converts three pollutants at once, coated in platinum-group metals.
Quantities are per vehicle indicative range tonnes of contained material
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Material | Per unit | Total, low | Total, high | World annual production | Share of a year’s supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cerium | 0.02–0.1 kg | 0.00002 t | 0.0001 t | not published | — |
| Platinum | 0.002–0.008 kg | 0.000002 t | 0.000008 t | 170.0 tMine production: Platinum, rounded, 2025 | 0.0% |
| Palladium | 0.002–0.007 kg | 0.000002 t | 0.000007 t | 190.0 tMine production: Palladium, rounded, 2025 | 0.0% |
| Rhodium No practical substitute. | 0.0002–0.001 kg | 0 t | 0.000001 t | not published | — |
Intensity ranges are indicative, compiled from published technology studies and chemistry — not a manufacturer specification. World production is USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, 2025 (estimated), converted to tonnes of the same basis where the source reports thousands of tonnes or kilograms · source ↗. This is an educational order-of-magnitude tool. It is not a procurement estimate and must not be used as one.