An Alkaline Water Electrolyzer with Sustainion™ Membranes: 1 A/cm² at 1.9V with Base Metal Catalysts

This paper will consider the effects of catalyst composition on alkaline membrane electrolyzers with Sustainion™ membranes. In previous work, we have demonstrated that Sustainion™ membranes are stable at 60 °C for at least 1500 hours in 1 M KOH. Here we compare a number of catalysts on the performance of an alkaline water electrolyzer. Tests using a 5 cm² cell at 60 °C in 1 M KOH show that we are able to maintain 1 A/cm² at 1.9 V with NiFe 2 O 4 anode and FeNiCo cathode catalyst on stainless steel fiber at 60 °C and 1 M KOH for nearly 2000 hours with a degradation rate of only 5 µV/hr.