Accelerating the Hydrogen Economy Through Catalyst Innovation
2025.11.03
🔍 As countries strengthen their net-zero commitments, hydrogen is emerging as a core pillar of next-generation energy strategies. With low-emissions hydrogen production expanding and electrolysis and fuel cell technologies entering commercialization, the hydrogen economy is accelerating into full motion.
Catalyst technology plays a decisive role in improving hydrogen production efficiency and system stability. Heesung Catalysts is advancing its electrode catalyst and MEA technologies to enhance performance and durability across the entire value chain — from splitting water into hydrogen to converting hydrogen back into electricity. Leveraging proprietary precious-metal dispersion technology and an integrated in-house production system, the company continues to strengthen its competitiveness in the global hydrogen ecosystem. This article explores these technology innovations and the future direction of the hydrogen industry.
As carbon neutrality becomes a defining priority across global industries, the direction of the energy transition is evolving rapidly. With traditional fossil-fuel systems centered on coal and oil reaching their limits, countries are investing in renewable energy and building new industrial ecosystems. At the center of this global shift is hydrogen.
Hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide during use, and when produced with renewable energy, it enables a fully carbon-neutral energy cycle. It can be used across power generation, heating, and chemical manufacturing, playing a pivotal role in bridging traditional energy systems and a clean-energy future. Importantly, hydrogen can also store surplus solar and wind power, helping stabilize energy grids and strengthen energy security.
Growth of the Hydrogen Industry: A New Era Driven by Technology Innovation
According to the IEA Global Hydrogen Review 2025, global production of low-emissions hydrogen increased by roughly 10% in 2024, signaling early commercial maturity. The IEA projects output to reach 1 million tons in 2025, still less than 1% of total hydrogen supply but marking a clear turning point.
Despite policy delays and infrastructure hurdles, technology investment continues to accelerate. Since 2020, over 200 low-emissions hydrogen projects have reached final investment decision (FID), pushing the market beyond pilot demonstrations into true commercialization.
By 2030, confirmed projects — including those at FID — are expected to deliver 4.2 million tons of low-emissions hydrogen annually, roughly five times 2024 output and representing approximately 4% of global production. With stronger policy support and demand-side activation, an additional 6 million tons of capacity could emerge.
Meanwhile, production estimates from announced (pre-FID) projects have been revised downward from 49 to 37 million tons, reflecting supply-chain and policy timing adjustments.
The message is clear: while challenges remain, technological and financial momentum is reshaping the industry. Hydrogen is evolving into a core industrial energy platform poised to support national energy strategies and decarbonize multiple sectors.
The Hydrogen Value Chain: Integrating Production to Utilization
The hydrogen economy spans a fully connected value chain: production → storage & transport → utilization.
Electrolysis systems drive hydrogen production, while fuel cells convert hydrogen into clean power. At the center of both systems is the electrode catalyst, a critical technology that governs performance, durability, and efficiency across the entire value chain.
Heesung Catalysts advances catalyst technology that links production and utilization systems, forming a seamless bridge across the hydrogen cycle.
Producing Hydrogen from Water: Electrolysis
Water electrolysis splits water (H₂O) into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂) using electricity. The oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) occurs at the anode, while the hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER) takes place at the cathode. Catalyst effectiveness determines the energy required and overall system efficiency.
Heesung Catalysts develops PEM electrolysis catalysts using proprietary dispersion and particle-size-control technologies for noble metals such as IrOx, RuOx, and Pt. These catalysts deliver high durability and efficiency, minimizing degradation during long-term operation and accelerating the scale-up of green-hydrogen production.
Turning Hydrogen into Power: Fuel Cells
Fuel cells generate electricity and heat through electrochemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen, achieving high efficiency without carbon emissions.
Major fuel-cell systems include:
- PEMFC (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell)
- PAFC (Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell)
- SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell)
Each system offers unique advantages in startup behavior, operating temperature, durability, and fuel flexibility.
Electrode-catalyst performance and MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) design dictate efficiency, lifetime, and cost competitiveness. Heesung Catalysts designs alloy catalysts such as Pt/C and PtCo/C to maximize oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) activity while minimizing precious-metal loading.
MEA: The Core of Hydrogen-Energy Systems
The MEA forms the active electrochemical interface in both fuel-cell and electrolysis systems — the “heart” of hydrogen technologies. Heesung Catalysts operates a fully integrated, in-house production line encompassing catalyst synthesis, ink dispersion, coating, and lamination. This structure ensures consistent quality and rapid transition from R&D to mass production, delivering stable performance in both hydrogen production and utilization applications.
Heesung Catalysts’ Competitive Edge
With decades of experience in precious-metal catalyst engineering, Heesung Catalysts delivers uniform particle-size distribution, high activity, and reliable reproducibility. Full in-house manufacturing strengthens supply-chain resilience and quality consistency while accelerating commercialization timelines.
The company collaborates with global leaders including BASF and Hyundai Motor Company, expanding its presence across the full hydrogen value chain to drive innovation and scale.
Advancing a Sustainable Hydrogen Society
The hydrogen economy represents a structural shift in the energy landscape. At the center of this transformation are catalysts — small components enabling large-scale change.
Leveraging expertise honed in automotive and environmental catalysts, Heesung Catalysts is expanding into electrolysis, fuel cells, and MEA technologies — core materials powering the future hydrogen ecosystem.
Through continuous innovation and global collaboration, the company will continue advancing performance, reliability, and scalability across the hydrogen lifecycle, helping build a clean-energy future for the generations that follow.
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