Marcus Nurdin, the managing director of the International Platinum Association (IPA), has sought to correct the mistaken belief espoused by the vice president for environment, technology and regulatory affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, that platinum is in scarce supply.

Writing in the Washington Times Mr Nurdin welcomes some of the points made by Mr William Kovacs in a recent piece in the same newspaper, concerning the climate change debate and the impact of carbon dioxide emissions.

However, Mr Nurdin says it is important to note that platinum supply will be able to handle the increasing demands for its application.

'The world's leading platinum group metals miners, producers and fabricators confirm that global resources are sufficient to meet expected future demand for platinum for fuel cell development,' he explained.

According to Nurdin technological advances in fuel cells that will drastically lower the platinum requirement necessary for fuel cells will boost the capacity of suppliers to meet demand, whilst new resources offer further encouraging signs.

In addition, Mr Nurdin says it is significant that platinum is 'highly recyclable' - with up to 96 per cent of the metals recoverable in the recycling process.

'A little platinum goes a long way,' he quipped.