- The European project is validating industrial-scale production and real-operation performance of breakthrough catalysts free from critical raw materials
- The results confirm that the technology is not only scientifically promising, but also capable of delivering up to 200 mV performance gains—an essential step toward cost-competitive hydrogen production
Valencia (Spain), October 15th 2026 – The European research project SEAL-HYDROGEN has reached a decisive turning point in its development roadmap. The project has completed its first major milestone, confirming that its new family of catalysts for alkaline water electrolysis can deliver high efficiency, industrial scalability and long-term stability—all without relying on critical raw materials.
This achievement strengthens SEAL-HYDROGEN’s central promise: enabling more affordable and competitive green hydrogen production through next-generation alkaline water electrolyzers that merge proven industrial design with cutting-edge materials science.
The project, developed jointly by the University of València (UVEG), Matteco, Siemens Energy, the Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), and Horiba, is entering a new phase involving system assembly and pre-pilot validation.
Breakthrough validation: the technology works, scales and can change the cost curve
With this milestone, the consortium has:
- Demonstrated five leading layered double hydroxide (LDH) catalyst compositions with performance improvements of up to 200 mV lower overpotential than bare nickel.
- Proven that these catalysts can be manufactured at a kilogram scale, using industry-compatible processing.
- Run them under real-operation electrolysis conditions, confirming activity, stability and system-level robustness.
- Performed some of the most advanced operando characterisation ever applied to LDH catalysts in alkaline water electrolysis.
Together, these results confirm that the technology is not only scientifically promising but also realistic for industrial deployment—making SEAL-HYDROGEN a potential accelerator of cost-competitive European hydrogen production and energy transition.
The scientific relevance of this work has also been recognised through a publication in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications, co-authored by several SEAL-HYDROGEN partners. The study presents highly efficient and stable catalytic materials for green hydrogen production, reinforcing the scientific foundations behind the project’s advances and its potential to deliver more efficient alkaline electrolysis.
Gonzalo Abellán, Project Coordinator at SEAL-HYDROGEN: “We have validated the scalable synthesis of a benchmark catalyst based on LDHs. This verifies our scientific approach and provides a solid foundation as we move toward the next stages of the project.”
SEAL-HYDROGEN now moves on to assembly of full membrane-electrode systems, durability and accelerated aging testing, and towards future pre-pilot demonstration.
Summary of the key advances
Top-performing catalysts identified: From 75 LDH compositions, five non-CRM material combinations showed significantly reduced overpotential (120–200 mV) and standout performance for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER).
New scientific insight on stability: Detailed electrochemical analysis revealed that these LDHs increase catalytic activity by exposing new active sites for the OER.
High-purity testing environment achieved: A new KOH purification method reduced metal impurities below 10 ppb, ensuring high-quality and reproducible catalyst evaluation.
Industrial scalability validated: All selected catalysts were successfully produced at a kilogram scale and integrated directly onto nickel electrode substrates using industrially relevant processes.
Proven performance under real operating conditions: The catalysts were tested in zero-gap cells at industrial temperatures and configurations, supported by new in-situ Raman characterisation to monitor structural evolution during operation.
SEAL-HYDROGEN is a European Union co-funded research and innovation project (GA 101137915) dedicated to developing stable and efficient alkaline water electrolyzers with zero critical raw materials for pure hydrogen production. The project brings together industrial (Siemens Energy, Matteco, Horiba) and research partners (University of Valencia, HIERN) to advance the technology and accelerate the commercial uptake of water electrolysis.
More information https://seal-hydrogen.eu/
Contact info@seal-hydrogen.eu
Luz Martínez +34 621218311 | Daria Karygina +34 653779624
