Norilsk Nickel presented the capabilities of its Palladium Technology Centre at the 3rd Forum on Innovative Uses of Platinum Group Metals in Shanghai.
The centre operates in Moscow and, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), develops palladium-containing structures and materials for microelectronics, solar energy, and the glass industry. Nornickel has offered its Chinese partners to jointly test and implement these materials.
Previously, researchers manually checked about 50 such structures a year, and a single discovery could take decades. The centre changed the approach to material creation: in one month, generative AI creates and evaluates up to 10,000 structures, selecting them based on stability and properties.
Looking ahead, the company plans to create an automated lab where AI and robots will work around the clock. The goal is to go from a new material idea to the first industrial application in just two years.
The centre was created in 2023, and now it already has over 30 projects in its portfolio. Nornickel plans to create 100 new materials based on palladium by 2030.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
