Modern trends in improving the performance of PEM water electrolyzers

The ever-increasing energy demands of modern society together with the commitment of limiting global warming by lowering the greenhouse gas emissions and by use of renewable sources lead to significant transformation of the energy and transportation sector. In this regard, the concept of the so-called Hydrogen Economy proves to be very promising. For its successful implementation, the efficiently working proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEM-WEs) are essential. PEM-WEs use electrical power to drive electrochemical wThe ever-increasing energy demands of modern society together with the commitment of limiting global warming by lowering the greenhouse gas emissions and by use of renewable sources lead to significant transformation of the energy and transportation sector. In this regard, the concept of the so-called Hydrogen Economy proves to be very promising. For its successful implementation, the efficiently working proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEM-WEs) are essential. PEM-WEs use electrical power to drive electrochemical water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen. One of the top research priorities in this field is a significant reduction of noble metal dependence, predominantly on anode, through systematic studies of new materials. This talk will cover different approaches on how to improve the performance and durability of PEM-WE not only by employing new catalysts but also by modifying the membrane/catalyst interface. We will be focusing on magnetron sputtering as it is a very dependable, cost-effective, and industrially scalable method for depositing thin-film multielement catalysts and is also capable of enlarging the surface of PEM by so-called sputter-etching process. Finally, we will introduce several recent methods for operando analysis of membrane electrode assemblies within PEM-WE single cells which have potential to shed more light on the complicated activity-stability relationship of novel catalytic materials.ater splitting into hydrogen and oxygen. One of the top research priorities in this field is a significant reduction of noble metal dependence, predominantly on anode, through systematic studies of new materials. This talk will cover different approaches on how to improve the performance and durability of PEM-WE not only by employing new catalysts but also by modifying the membrane/catalyst interface. We will be focusing on magnetron sputtering as it is a very dependable, cost-effective, and industrially scalable method for depositing thin-film multielement catalysts and is also capable of enlarging the surface of PEM by so-called sputter-etching process. Finally, we will introduce several recent methods for operando analysis of membrane electrode assemblies within PEM-WE single cells which have potential to shed more light on the complicated activity-stability relationship of novel catalytic materials.