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PreprintCC BYChemRxiv

A quantitative roadmap from catalyst benchmarks to commercial hybrid electrolysis

  • Katharina M. Ebeling1,2,3
  • J. Raphael Seidenberg1,2,3
  • Benni Zou4
  • Dominik Bongartz2,3,5
  • Alexander Mitsos1,6,7
  • Regina Palkovits4,7,8
  • Sonja D. Mürtz4,9,10
10 affiliations
  1. 1Process Systems Engineering (AVT.SVT), RWTH Aachen University
  2. 2Department of Chemical Engineering
  3. 3KU Leuven
  4. 4RWTH Aachen University
  5. 5EnergyVille
  6. 6Energy Systems Engineering (ICE-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany, 52425
  7. 7JARA-ENERGY
  8. 8Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy (INW-2, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany, 52428
  9. 9Electrochemical Energy Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
  10. 10ETH Zurich
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Abstract

Hybrid water electrolysis replaces the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction with the oxidation of an organic substrate, producing hydrogen alongside another value-added chemical. In its most efficient form, the electrochemical oxidative dehydrogenation (EOD) of aldehydes, hydrogen evolves at both electrodes with specific electricity consumption down to 4 kWh kg−1 totalH2 , tenfold lower than conventional water electrolysis. Yet whether such efficiency gains translate into commercial viability has never been tested, as the field lacks standardized performance metrics, limiting catalyst comparability and industrial viability assessment. We propose three performance metrics: Anodic Hydrogen Productivity (AHP), Specific Electricity Consumption (SEC), and Deactivation Rate (DR), and benchmark all reported EOD systems as a case study. A techno-economic analysis links these metrics to net present value and reveals a roadmap to commercial viability: (i) Feedstock selection is the primary economic determinant; (ii) Catalyst stability is the foremost bottleneck, with DRs exceeding tolerable values by three orders of magnitude; (iii) Current density is a linear lever on economics; (iv) Energy efficiency, the property most intensively optimized by the field, matters least, contributing under 1% of net present value for high-value products. This offers quantitative benchmarks for catalyst and process development toward commercially viable EOD. Because the metrics depend only on measurable cell performance, benchmarks and roadmap transfer directly to other hybrid electrolysis concepts.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{ebeling2026quantitative,
  title = {{A quantitative roadmap from catalyst benchmarks to commercial hybrid electrolysis}},
  author = {Katharina M. Ebeling and J. Raphael Seidenberg and Benni Zou and Dominik Bongartz and Alexander Mitsos and Regina Palkovits and Sonja D. Mürtz},
  howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15009880/v1},
  url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009880/v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - A quantitative roadmap from catalyst benchmarks to commercial hybrid electrolysis
AU  - Katharina M. Ebeling
AU  - J. Raphael Seidenberg
AU  - Benni Zou
AU  - Dominik Bongartz
AU  - Alexander Mitsos
AU  - Regina Palkovits
AU  - Sonja D. Mürtz
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/05
PB  - ChemRxiv
DO  - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15009880/v1
UR  - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009880/v1
AB  - Hybrid water electrolysis replaces the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction with the oxidation of an organic substrate, producing hydrogen alongside another value-added chemical. In its most efficient form, the electrochemical oxidative dehydrogenation (EOD) of aldehydes, hydrogen evolves at both electrodes with specific electricity consumption down to 4 kWh kg−1 totalH2 , tenfold lower than conventional water electrolysis. Yet whether such efficiency gains translate into commercial viability has never been tested, as the field lacks standardized performance metrics, limiting catalyst comparability and industrial viability assessment. We propose three performance metrics: Anodic Hydrogen Productivity (AHP), Specific Electricity Consumption (SEC), and Deactivation Rate (DR), and benchmark all reported EOD systems as a case study. A techno-economic analysis links these metrics to net present value and reveals a roadmap to commercial viability: (i) Feedstock selection is the primary economic determinant; (ii) Catalyst stability is the foremost bottleneck, with DRs exceeding tolerable values by three orders of magnitude; (iii) Current density is a linear lever on economics; (iv) Energy efficiency, the property most intensively optimized by the field, matters least, contributing under 1% of net present value for high-value products. This offers quantitative benchmarks for catalyst and process development toward commercially viable EOD. Because the metrics depend only on measurable cell performance, benchmarks and roadmap transfer directly to other hybrid electrolysis concepts.
ER  -