Rhodium: Overview
Car catalysts, chemical plants and hard disks
What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autocatalysts for petrol and hybrid cars (NOx reduction) | 85% | about 899,000 oz (28 t) in 2025basis | Rhodium is the most effective metal for turning nitrogen oxides into nitrogen in three-way catalytic converters, and it survives the heat of exhaust. Demand therefore rises with petrol and hybrid car output and with stricter NOx limits. A standard petrol converter holds roughly 1-2 g (AutoNation, via Farmonaut). Johnson Matthey PGM Market Report 2026; EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Palladium and platinum can replace some rhodium with lower NOx performance (USGS) Thrifting through better catalyst design (Johnson Matthey) Battery electric vehicles need no autocatalyst |
| Glass making (platinum-rhodium bushings for glass fibre and LCD glass) | 7% | about 74,000 oz (2.3 t) a yearbasis | Platinum-rhodium alloys resist molten glass and keep their shape at very high temperatures, so they are used for the bushings that spin glass fibre and for equipment making display glass. Johnson Matthey expects more rhodium use in glass in 2026, linked to specialist e-glass fibre. EU CRM study 2023; Johnson Matthey (May 2026) | Refractory ceramics in some parts Higher-platinum alloys (with shorter life) |
| Chemical catalysts (oxo-alcohols, acetic acid, nitric acid) | 6% | about 64,000 oz (2.0 t) a yearbasis | Rhodium complexes catalyse hydroformylation to make oxo-alcohols for plasticisers and detergents, and rhodium is alloyed with platinum in gauzes for nitric acid. The catalyst is mostly recycled, so demand comes from new plant capacity, much of it in China. USGS noted rising chemical catalyst demand in 2025. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Cobalt catalysts for hydroformylation (less efficient) Iridium-based catalysts for acetic acid |
| Electrical, hard disks and other uses (plating, thermocouples, jewellery finish) | 2% | about 21,000 oz (0.7 t) a yearbasis | Thin rhodium plating gives hard, bright, tarnish-free surfaces for jewellery and electrical contacts, and rhodium is used in hard-disk media and high-temperature thermocouples. EU CRM study 2023; USGS MCS 2026 | Ruthenium and palladium plating Platinum thermocouples |
From mine to user
- 1. Mining PGM ore Rhodium is mined with platinum and palladium, mostly from the Merensky, UG2 and Platreef layers of South Africa's Bushveld Complex. World mine supply was 701 koz (about 22 t) in 2025, 566 koz from South Africa (Johnson Matthey).
- 2. Concentration Ore is crushed, milled and floated to a PGM-rich concentrate.
- 3. Smelting to matte Concentrate is smelted in electric furnaces and converted to a nickel-copper matte that carries the PGMs.
- 4. Base metal and precious metal refining Nickel and copper are leached out; the PGM residue is separated by solvent extraction into the six metals. Refining takes months, and releases of work-in-progress stock added to South African supply in 2024 and 2025 (Johnson Matthey).
- 5. Sales Refined rhodium sponge or powder is sold on contracts to catalyst makers and industrial users; the US imported about 14,000 kg in 2025 (USGS).
- 6. Catalyst manufacture and use Catalyst makers coat rhodium with platinum or palladium onto ceramic substrates for converters, or make glass bushings and chemical catalysts.
- 7. Recycling Spent converters are collected and smelted; autocatalyst recycling supplied 312 koz in 2025, about 29% of demand (Johnson Matthey).
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
World production 23k kg, 2024 Largest producer South Africa 82.98% of worldThree things to know
- South Africa mined 83% of the world's rhodium in 2024, giving an HHI of 7,004 (World Mining Data).
- The US rhodium price fell 77%, from $20,254 per ounce in 2021 to $4,660 in 2024 (USGS).
- World rhodium output was about 22.8 tons in 2024, less than one-hundredth of gold's (World Mining Data).
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
- Gold Price Canada Today | Live Gold Price in CADKitco · 2026-10-25
- China vows response if EU introduces moves targeting Chinese tradeReuters · 2026-09-29
- Beijing criticises push for European Section 301-style tool to counter ChinaSouth China Morning Post · 2026-09-30