Bridging the gap between academia and industry: developing standardised testing protocols for green hydrogen catalysts
Type of project: SPRINT
Partners
This SPRINT was led by the University of Exeter in collaboration with industry and stakeholder partners:
Johnson Matthey
HydroStar Europe
Oxford NanoSystems
Oort Energy
Surrey Hydrogen Ltd
Royce Hydrogen Accelerator
GW-SHIFT network partners
Impacts at a glance
Developed simple, standardised, industry-relevant testing protocols for green hydrogen electrocatalysts.
Reduced the gap between academic laboratory methods and industrial fabrication practices.
Enabled fairer comparison of catalyst performance and durability across studies.
Built a strong network of industry, academic, and civic stakeholders.
Supported skills development for PhD students, MSc students, and early-career researchers.
Underpinned successful follow-on funding, including an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership, with further collaborative bids in the pipeline.
Short project description
This GW-SHIFT SPRINT project built on an established collaboration between the University of Exeter and Johnson Matthey to address a key barrier to green hydrogen deployment: the lack of standardised, industrially relevant testing protocols for electrocatalyst materials. Across academia and industry, variations in catalyst fabrication methods, testing conditions, and performance metrics make it difficult to compare results and translate promising materials into real-world electrolyser systems.
The project focused on developing practical, scalable fabrication and testing approaches that align laboratory research with industrial needs. In particular, the team explored spray-based electrode fabrication methods as a low-cost, industry-friendly alternative to expensive laboratory techniques, optimising parameters such as catalyst loading, temperature, and testing conditions. These protocols were evaluated using both three-electrode and full-cell electrochemical setups to assess performance and durability.
Direct Quote
Dr Zhenyu Zhang, Lecturer in Renewable Energy, University of Exeter
“This project helped us to bridge the gap between academic research and industry practice. It gave us time, resources, and funding to carry out meaningful experiments, engage directly with industry, and build long-term collaborations. It has been very useful not only for future funding, but also for training PhD students, MSc students, and early-career researchers with real industrial experience.”
“Alongside the technical work, the SPRINT funding enabled extensive engagement with industry partners through workshops, conferences, and networking activities. This strengthened academia–industry links, informed research direction, trained researchers in real-world challenges, and created a robust foundation for follow-on funding, PhD studentships, and continued collaboration. I’m most proud that it will contribute directly to the growth of the green hydrogen ecosystem in the South West and support progress towards Net Zero.”