Topic: Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Production: Materials, Interfaces, and Integrated Energy Conversion

The transition toward a carbon-neutral energy system demands transformative advances in both hydrogen production and fuel-cell-based energy conversion. Fuel cells offer highly efficient electrochemical pathways for converting chemical fuels into electricity, while hydrogen serves as a clean and versatile energy carrier capable of bridging renewable energy generation, storage, and end-use applications. However, large-scale deployment remains constrained by fundamental challenges related to materials performance, interfacial kinetics, durability, system integration, and cost.

This Special Issue, “Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Production: Materials, Interfaces, and Integrated Energy Conversion” aims to provide a high-level forum for reporting frontier research that advances both the scientific foundations and the technological readiness of hydrogen energy systems. The issue emphasizes mechanism-driven understanding, materials–interface–device coupling, and integration strategies that effectively connect hydrogen generation with fuel-cell power conversion.

We particularly encourage contributions that go beyond incremental material optimization and instead address new transport mechanisms, interfacial phenomena, electrochemical reaction pathways, and system-level architectures that enable higher efficiency, improved durability, and scalable manufacturing. By bridging fundamental science with applied engineering, this Special Issue seeks to define key research directions required to render hydrogen-based energy technologies economically viable and globally impactful.

In addition to fundamental and applied research, this Special Issue also welcomes contributions that briefly reflect on how advances in fuel cell and hydrogen technologies have contributed to the growing visibility and acceptance of hydrogen energy, including examples where scientific and technological progress has enabled successful demonstration, adoption, or market recognition of hydrogen-based solutions.

This collection will serve researchers, engineers, and policymakers across materials science, electrochemistry, energy engineering, and sustainability, and aims to accelerate progress toward practical hydrogen economies and resilient clean-energy infrastructures.

We invite original research articles, reviews, and perspectives on, but not limited to, the following topics:

Hydrogen Production

● Advanced electrochemical water splitting (HER/OER) and related reactions;

● Catalysts and catalyst-free strategies for hydrogen evolution;

● Photo-electrochemical and hybrid hydrogen production systems;

● Charge, ion, and mass transport mechanisms in hydrogen generation.

Fuel Cell Technologies

● PEMFCs, SOFCs, PCFCs, and other emerging fuel-cell systems;

● Direct fuel cells and alternative fuel-cell concepts;

● Low- and intermediate-temperature fuel-cell technologies.

Materials, Interfaces, and Mechanisms

● Electrolytes, membranes, and mixed ionic–electronic conductors;

● Electrode and catalyst design for enhanced kinetics and durability;

● Interfacial phenomena, space-charge effects, and built-in electric fields;

● Coupled electron–ion transport and electrochemical mechanisms.

Durability, Scalability, and Integration

● Degradation mechanisms and operational stability;

● Integration of hydrogen production and fuel-cell systems;

● Pathways toward scalable deployment and practical adoption, including successful demonstration and market recognition.

Fuel cells/electrolysis, electrolytes, HER/OER; electrodes, catalyst energy conversion