It’s easy to junk a car. You call a local company that runs ads that say, “We buy cars” and they come and tow your car away.

Yes, that’s easy. But if you dispose of your old car that way, chances are good you will be giving away gold, silver and other valuable materials that can be worth $100.00 or more. So . . . pull them out before you junk that car and talk to us about recycling them.

Will this emerging trend create new opportunities to recycle platinum?

Just when we were starting to think that enthusiasm for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles was starting to fall, interest is picking up again. Learn more in this recent video about fuel cell cars that was shown on PBS News earlier this month.

The words of a classic rock song by Bob Dylan tell us, “The times they are a-changing.”

They really apply if you invest in platinum scrap, gold scrap and silver scrap. Here are some trends that will cause major changes for precious metal investors in the next five years.

From Blackberry to iPhone and Beyond . . .

Scientists and lay people (otherwise known as “the men and women in the street”) love to predict the death of precious metals. They like to believe that gold, silver and platinum will lose value because they will be replaced by other materials and other chemicals in a lot of devices and applications.

Road & Track magazine reports that in 2024, a company called Forze Hydrogen Racing will enter the historic 24-hour race that is held every year at Le Mans. Forze’s racecar is being built by a group of engineering students, who are developing the car with the help of Hyundai. It will compete at Le Mans in a new class that will be created that year for fuel cell cars.

“. . . the future might be closer than it appears,” Road & Track asks, and that could be true.

Okay, You think you know all there is to know about precious metal scrap, here’s a question for you . . .

What precious metals are found in a regular old gas-powered automobile?

Chances are you can answer that question without thinking too hard about it. A gas or diesel-powered car contains gold (in the printed circuit boards that are onboard), some silver in them too, and a small quantity of platinum in its catalytic converter.

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

In one of the biggest automotive recalls in history, General Motors has informed 141,000 owners of Chevrolet Bolt electric cars that they have to bring their cars in to have their batteries replaced.

We are writing today about fuel cell cars for a very simple reason . . .

The fuel cells that are found in hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars contain platinum, and could become an important source of platinum for smart investors in platinum scrap

Yet currently, only two fuel cell-powered passenger cars are available for sale in the United States:

If you’ve been following the news this week, you know that President Biden signed an executive order stating that by year 2030, between 40% and 50% of all new cars sold in the U.S. must be electric.

When we dug in and took a closer look at what that order requires, we discovered some aspects of it that are nothing short of amazing.

Platinum is a bright, shiny precious metal that has unique properties when it is used as a catalyst in a number of different applications.

When a variety of different gases are passed through platinum-containing powders and wafers, the platinum causes unique things to happen, as we’ll explore in a minute. And the good news for recyclers is that even after those platinum is no longer functioning efficiently, enough platinum is left behind to be worth recycling.

We have been writing lately about cars that are powered not by gasoline or electricity, but by hydrogen fuel cells. They will soon allow you to fill your car with hydrogen that will be available at “gas stations” that offer hydrogen alongside gasoline.

If you try to buy used hydrogen fuel cells today, you are apt to be disappointed.

“If fuel cells are the hottest new technology on the landscape,” you start to ask, “why can’t I find any to buy . . . and why can’t I get my hands on all the platinum they are supposed to contain?”

Lots of people today are asking questions just like those. But the fact is that smart, forward-thinking precious metal investors are starting to realize that in the future, hydrogen fuel cells will become probably the hottest trend in precious metals.

“Platinum, platinum alloys with transition metals, platinum-ruthenium alloy, palladium and other similar catalytic materials have been the most commonly utilized catalyst materials for various electrochemical devices such as fuel cell, electrolyzers, electrochemical pumps (also known as electrochemical compressors), electrochemical inerters, electrochemical dehumidification, etc.” - Source: FuelCellStore.com

If you do a search online for “fuel cell cars” or “hydrogen-powered cars,” you will be surprised to learn that strictly speaking, fuel cell cars are not a brand new idea. They have been around for longer than you might expect and have been manufactured for about 20 years. Incidentally, fuel cells that generate electrical current have been around for nearly 200 years. It’s not exactly a new technology.

You probably think that you know everything there is to know about recycling valuable scrap and getting a nice big payout. You probably already know that . . .

• You can recycle gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap and even platinum family metals and rhodium. Call Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners at 800-426-2344 and we will tell you how.

• You can recycle used batteries that contain lithium, nickel, and cadmium.

• You can even reclaim rare earth metals from touch screens in tablets, laptops, and phones.

But There Is a New Recyclable in Town