Direct seawater electrolysis may enable hydrogen production using ocean water and offshore renewables. This Perspective highlights scaling approaches and challenges in catalysts, membranes, and system design needed for industrial-scale operation.
Direct seawater electrolysis could enable hydrogen production using abundant seawater and offshore renewables, but its deployment is limited by the complex and variable composition and dynamic of seawater. This Perspective discusses scaling challenges through four key strategies: catalyst engineering, asymmetric electrolysis, aperture screening and phase-transition migration.
