A research team led by Dr. Kyung-Soo Kang and Dr. Hyun-Jun Lee from the Hydrogen Energy Research Division of the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) has developed Ni/Co-based heterostructure water electrolysis electrodes that deliver higher hydrogen production efficiency than conventional noble-metal electrodes.

The work is published in the journal Advanced Science.

The new electrodes have achieved a 99% reduction in material costs compared with noble-metal electrodes, contributing to a reduction in hydrogen production costs. Conventional noble metals are approximately $58/g for platinum (Pt) and $54/g for ruthenium (Ru), whereas KIER's electrode materials are approximately $0.02/g for nickel (Ni) and $0.05/g for cobalt (Co)