Advancing durable solid oxide electrolysis cells for sustainable fuel production

Industry’s growing demand for alternative fuels, from ammonia and sustainable aviation fuel to synthetic diesel, depends on access to cheap, green hydrogen. While high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis cells are sufficiently efficient for cost parity, their operational lifetime must increase roughly fourfold to be cost competitive. Of the degradation mechanisms, chemical instability of the air electrode has plagued the industry for decades. Our solution is to use high-entropy oxides as a drop-in replacement for air electrodes to achieve balanced performance and resilience. This could lead to scalable green hydrogen production to decarbonize in the hardest-to-abate sectors.