What is it?
The most corrosion-resistant metal known, and the second densest — a litre of it weighs about 22.5 kilograms.
Why does it matter?
PEM electrolysers, the technology most often proposed for green hydrogen, need iridium on the oxygen side, and world output is only a few tonnes a year.
Deeper written sections for this material have not been published yet. Everything below is drawn straight from the source datasets and is complete.
Price
dollars per troy ounce: Iridium
Annual averagedollars per troy ounce
Basis: dollars per troy ounce: Iridium. Annual averages as published in USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗. These are reference annual averages, not a live market quote.
Where it is processed and refined
| Plant | Kind | Stage | Country | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rustenburg Base & Precious Metals Refineries | Refinery | Refining | South Africa | Output |
What it is used for
All end markets →| End market | What it does there | Importance |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen & Electrolysis | PEM anode catalyst | Defining |
How much of it a technology needs
| Technology | Quantity | Quoted | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEM Electrolyser Loadings are falling but remain the binding constraint. | 0.3–0.7 kg | per MW of capacity | Anode catalyst loading |
Indicative range compiled from published technology studies and chemistry; verify against a manufacturer specification before use. Run these numbers at any scale in the material calculator →