Materials Engineering for High Performance and Durability Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Pablo A. García-Salaberri; Lonneke van Eijk; William Bangay; Kara J. Ferner; Mee H. Ha; Michael Moore; Ivan Perea; Ahmet Kusoglu; Marc Secanell; Prodip K. Das; Nausir Firas; Svitlana Pylypenko; Melissa Novy; Michael Yandrasits; Suvash C. Saha; Ali Bayat; Shawn Litster; Iryna V. Zenyuk

doi:10.1021/acsaem.5c01989

journal article·2025-09-22Open access

Materials Engineering for High Performance and Durability Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Pablo A. García-Salaberri, Lonneke van Eijk, William Bangay, Kara J. Ferner, Mee H. Ha, Michael Moore, Ivan Perea, Ahmet Kusoglu, Marc Secanell, Prodip K. Das, Nausir Firas, Svitlana Pylypenko, Melissa Novy, Michael Yandrasits, Suvash C. Saha, Ali Bayat, Shawn Litster, Iryna V. Zenyuk

ACS Applied Energy Materials· Volume 8· Issue 18

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Source abstract

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are expected to play a crucial role in the global green energy transition during the 21st century. They provide a versatile and sustainable solution for generating hydrogen with very high purity in combination with renewable energies, such as solar and wind. Despite their promise, PEMWEs face several critical problems, including high costs, performance limitations, and durability challenges, particularly at low iridium (Ir) loading on the anode. Advancing next-generation PEMWEs requires extensive work on materials engineering of all cell components, including the catalyst layer (CL), membrane, porous transport layer (PTL), bipolar plate (BPP), and gasket. This task must be performed with the complementary contribution of different modeling and characterization techniques. This review presents a critical perspective from academia, research centers, and industry, mapping main developments, remaining gaps, and strategic pathways to advance PEMWE technology. A focus is devoted to key aspects, such as operation at low Ir loading, membrane durability, multiscale transport layers, porous and non-porous flow fields, multiphysics modeling, and multipurpose characterization techniques, which are thoroughly discussed. By unifying these topics, this review provides readers with the essential knowledge to grasp current developments and tackle tomorrow's challenges in PEMWE engineering.

Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

Energy storage Catalysis & surfaces

OpenAlex topics: Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems · Fuel Cells and Related Materials · Advanced battery technologies research

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Chemical and Environmental Technology (ESCET), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain

Instituto de Investigación de Tecnologías para la Sostenibilidad, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain

Chemistry Department, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States

Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Blounts Court Rd, Sonning Common, Reading RG4 9NH, U.K.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University

Energy Systems Design Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Alberta

Energy Conversion Group, Energy Technologies Area

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

School of Engineering

Newcastle University

University of Edinburgh

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National Fuel Cell Research Center

University of California Irvine

Chemistry and Nanoscience Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States

School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

University of Technology Sydney

Funding

Agencia Estatal de Investigaci?n · Directorate for Engineering · Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

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