Gold is used in diesel catalytic convertors to meet emission targets
Catalytic convertors in cars, trucks and, increasingly heavy-duty off-road vehicles, use precious metals to catalyse the oxidation of harmful by-products in the engine exhaust, so reducing noxious emissions that would otherwise pollute the air. Due to a challenging mixture of contaminating particles and elevated temperatures, catalysts need to have the highest levels of robustness and durability. Only precious metals offer the necessary levels of performance to meet required targets.
Permitted emission levels are progressively being tightened by Governments around the world. Gold is used the meet the most stringent European emission targets (designated Euro-5) and certified catalysts using gold have been fixed to thousands of diesel powered vehicles.
The World Gold Council was pivotal in bringing this gold-based technology to market through its partnership with Nanostellar, Inc., a developer of materials for automotive emissions control and other cleantech applications.
