Current Challenges in Catalyst Development for PEM Water Electrolyzers

This work addresses current challenges in catalyst development for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEM-WEs). To reduce the amount of iridium at the oxygen anode to levels commensurate with large-scale application of PEM-WEs, high-structured catalysts with a low packing density are required. To allow an efficient development of such catalysts, activity and durability screening tests are essential. Rotating disk electrode measurements are suitable to determine catalyst activity, while accelerated stress tests on the MEA level are required to evaluate catalyst stability.