Tracking Green Hydrogen Projects: Dutch Company Achieves Breakthrough in Green Hydrogen Catalyst, Reducing Iridium Usage by 90%

Recently, Dutch company VSPARTICLE, in collaboration with Plug Power and the University of Delaware's Clean Hydrogen Center, has achieved a breakthrough in PEM electrolyzer iridium catalyst technology. By utilizing "nanoporous layer" technology, they have reduced iridium usage by 90%, significantly increasing the utilization rate, laying a critical foundation for lowering the cost of green hydrogen to $1/kg and enabling large-scale production.

I. Core Technological Breakthrough: Dual Optimization of Iridium Usage and Utilization Rate

Breakthrough Entity and Collaborators: Led by Dutch company VSPARTICLE, in partnership with hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power Inc. and the US University of Delaware's Clean Hydrogen Center, the technological achievement surpasses the US Department of Energy (DOE)'s 2026 targets for iridium utilization and performance.

Technical Principle and Effects:

The core technology is "nanoporous layer" technology, which creates highly uniform nanoporous structures through a dry deposition process, maximizing the electrode's electrochemical surface area and fundamentally optimizing iridium usage efficiency.

Traditional PEM electrolyzer catalyst coatings require an iridium loading of 1-2 mg/cm²; this technology reduces it to 0.1 mg/cm²,decreasing iridium usage by 90%, while maintaining high performance, high current density, and the durability required for commercial use.

Underlying Supporting Technology: Leveraging VSPARTICLE's nanoparticle printing technology, its flagship product VSP-P1 can decompose materials such as zinc and aluminum into nanoparticles and mix them proportionally, precisely preparing key energy conversion materials like electrolyzer coatings, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process.

II. Addressing Industry Pain Points and Value

Resolving the Iridium Scarcity Bottleneck: Iridium is a critical material for PEM electrolyzers, but global annual production is only 7-8 mt. Its scarcity severely constrains the large-scale production of electrolyzers. This technology significantly reduces iridium demand, avoiding an iridium supply crisis and clearing obstacles for scaling PEM electrolyzers to multi-GW levels.

Driving Down Green Hydrogen Costs: The technological breakthrough directly contributes to advancing green hydrogen (produced from renewable electricity) toward the cost parity target of $1/kg, fundamentally altering the economics of green hydrogen production from the material side and accelerating its commercial application.

III. Commercialization Progress and Industry Evaluation

Commercialization Advancement: VSPARTICLE is expanding its internal coating capacity and has partnered with several top PEM electrolyzer manufacturers. Some partners plan to initiate technology integration and commercial-scale testing projects in 2026.

Authoritative Industry Evaluation:

VSPARTICLE CEO Aaike van Vugt: This technology is the "missing piece" the industry has been searching for, transforming the limitation of iridium scarcity into a scalable solution.

Thomas Valdez, R&D Manager at Plug Power: Excellent performance under ultra-low iridium loading is crucial for enterprises to reduce costs and achieve deployment goals.

Yushan Yan, Director of the Clean Hydrogen Center: The technology addresses the most critical material challenge in PEM electrolysis, reduces risks for next-generation electrolyzer manufacturing, and fundamentally transforms the economics of green hydrogen.