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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
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Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
From Atomic-Scale Engineering to Industry-Ready Systems: Prospects for Seawater Electrolysis Toward Hydrogen
Jiaxi Ding1, Yutong Wu2, Yanzhe Li3
1School of Engineering, College of Systems and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|August 14, 2026
Summary
Seawater electrolysis offers a sustainable path to green hydrogen (H2) production, crucial for the energy transition. Advances in catalysts and electrolyzer design are overcoming seawater
Area of Science:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Electrochemistry
- Sustainable Energy Technologies
Background:
- Seawater electrolysis is a key strategy for green hydrogen (H2) production, addressing energy demands and water scarcity.
- Seawater's abundance and conductivity make it an attractive electrolyte, but its composition presents challenges like catalyst poisoning and corrosion.
- Overcoming these challenges is vital for the industrial application of hydrogen and the global energy transition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of recent advancements in seawater electrolysis.
- To critically analyze electrocatalyst design, electrolyzer architectures, and operational strategies for H2 production from seawater.
- To highlight challenges and future perspectives for scalable and economically viable seawater electrolysis systems.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on electrocatalyst development for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and bifunctional applications.
- Analysis of recent progress in electrolyzer design, device operation, and stability studies under real seawater conditions.
- Inclusion of theoretical insights from density functional theory (DFT) calculations on reaction pathways and degradation mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Significant progress has been made in designing electrocatalysts and electrolyzer systems to mitigate seawater-specific issues.
- Scalable synthesis methods and stability assessments under operational conditions are increasingly emphasized.
- Understanding of degradation mechanisms through theoretical calculations aids in developing more robust systems.
Conclusions:
- Seawater electrolysis is a viable route for sustainable hydrogen production, but challenges in durability, scalability, and cost remain.
- Further research is needed in standardized testing, system integration with renewables, and techno-economic analysis.
- Future efforts should focus on designing durable, scalable, and cost-effective systems to accelerate large-scale green hydrogen production.
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