Electronic Structure‐Engineered Proton Depletion Interfaces on Ternary RuO ₂ for Ultra‐Stable Kilowatt Electrocatalysis

Abstract

Abstract Advancing high‐current PEM water electrolysis (PEMWE) is crucial for terawatt‐scale green hydrogen economies, but anode catalyst stability under industrial conditions remains a key barrier to system efficiency and longevity. Here, we present a ternary RuO 2 ‐based catalyst (Cr 0.1 Sn 0.1 Ru 0.8 O 2 ) that addresses these limitations through proton depletion interface engineering, with electronic structure modulation inherently integrated into the catalyst design. The resulting catalyst reaches a current density of 3.0 amperes per square centimeter at only 1.77 volts and a low degradation for oxygen evolution over 1000 h in PEMWE. A scaled‐up system incorporating this anode catalyst further attains a hundred‐ampere level water electrolysis, with kilowatt scale which propels the large‐scale deployment of hydrogen production utilizing renewable energy sources. Our techno‐economic analysis predicts that leveraging this anode architecture can reduce hydrogen production costs below $1 per kg H 2 while maintaining a substantially lower environmental footprint relative to conventional electrolyzer technologies.