Proton OnSite (Proton) recently announced that it is receiving approximately $1.8 million in a cooperative agreement award to lead the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Advanced Water Splitting (AWS) Benchmarking Project with the HydroGEN Energy Materials Network (EMN) consortium.

Through this award, the project team will develop a comprehensive framework of best practices and standardized protocols for evaluating AWS hydrogen production technologies at the materials, component, device, and system levels. The technologies include advanced high- and low-temperature electrolysis as well as photoelectrochemical (PEC) and solar thermochemical (STCH) water splitting. The goal is to expedite the discovery and development of efficient, durable, and low-cost AWS materials capable of meeting the long term hydrogen production cost goal of <$2/kg hydrogen through the establishment and implementation of best practices.

Proton will lead the project and will provide its expertise in the area of low-temperature anion exchange membrane (AEM) and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Project partners include Pacific Northwest National Laboratory leading the high-temperature electrolysis pathway, Caltech leading the PEC pathway, and Arizona State University leading the STCH pathway.

The AWS Benchmarking Project is an integral part of DOE's HydroGEN consortium and will leverage HydroGEN's expertise and resources to test and validate the standard protocols and benchmarking methods developed in this collaborative effort. During the first phase of the project, a user-friendly, searchable database for protocols and resulting materials, component, device, or system performance data will be developed. In the second phase, the team will focus on developing roadmaps to guide continued advancement of each of the AWS technology pathways.

Coordinating closely with HydroGEN and engaging with the broader AWS community, Proton and its team will assess and document the status and gaps in current best practices, capabilities, and protocols, and establish next steps and priorities for developing a comprehensive set of standard procedures for facilitating AWS research and development.