Water electrolysis is a very old and promising technology for hydrogen production that started about two centuries ago. Hydrogen, considered the best source for fuel and energy storage, can be produced by the electrochemical conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen through the water electrolysis process. Since the 1950s, proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) have been commercially developed as a green source of high-purity hydrogen for many chemical applications as well as energy storage. However, high cost, high maintenance, low durability, poor safety, poor reliability, and low efficiency of PEMWEs compared to other available technologies have hampered their widespread commercialization. To address the economic and technical issues of the PEMWEs, research should consider improved electrocatalysts, low cost electrodes, corrosive resistant electrodes, reduction of electrode surface tension, and lower membrane resistance and hydrogen crossover.
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