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Launch of the CEN Workshop 'Electrochemical characterization at laboratory scale of non-noble porous metal-based electrodes for hydrogen generation in acidic medium'

share:    Updated:2025-07-10 00:00:00

A new CEN Workshop is being planned which will complement the activities of the EU project “NICKEFFECT”. The aim of this project is to discover new solutions for materials replacing the Platinum Group Metals (PGM).

Continued reliance on platinum-group metals in hydrogen production technologies, especially water electrolysis, creates economic and sustainability challenges as these metals are costly and in limited supply. As a response, research is being focused on developing non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts.

However, this area of innovation is not yet standardized at laboratory scale. This lack of harmonization has led to inconsistencies in reported performance data, making it difficult to compare materials, validate experimental results, and accelerate innovation. It is the intended outcome of this Workshop to provide an essential tool to support research, innovation, and regulatory compliance in the evolving European hydrogen economy.

The objective of this Workshop is to develop a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) that provides recommendations for the electrochemical testing of non-noble, porous metal-based electrodes for HER in acidic media. The CWA will define standardized experimental procedures, ensuring reproducibility and comparability of results across research groups and industries. It will also provide guidance on:

l The construction and setup of an appropriate electrochemical cell,

l The standardized electrochemical techniques for evaluating catalytic activity and durability,

l The key operating parameters and control strategies to be followed during testing,

l Guidelines for data collection, interpretation, and reporting to facilitate consistency in characterization.

The CWA will not cover testing protocols for complete electrolyzer systems or commercial-scale applications, as existing European and international harmonized protocols already define such methodologies. Instead, it will focus on laboratory-scale characterization, bridging the gap between fundamental research and industrial-scale implementation.