With the ever-increasing demand for next generation sustainable energy conversion technologies, it is undoubted that the substitution of economic and sustainable clean energy for traditional fossil fuels is becoming a necessity. Especiallyproton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and electrolyzercells (PEMECs) have demonstrated their powerful potential and are believed to be one of the most promising future energy providers for potable as well asstationary applications.

Inthe past three decades, vast research activities were carried out to boost the final steps for the fuel cells andelectrolyzercells to enter the daily life with affordable price and stable performance. Though still not well-understood, surface chemistry and morphology of the cell electrode, are crucial parameters influencing the cell performance1.

Moreover,sustainability from material flow point of view is another challenge. Stat-of-the-art PEMFCs and PEMECs are based on critical raw materials oflimited natural reserve or expensive processing cost. Sustainability continuityand actual capacity are key decisive factors in massive implementation of thetechnologies.

Inthis presentation, factors influencing catalyst and electrode interfacestructure, and degradation mechanisms2, and over all sustainability strategiesare discussed.

Prof.Ma isachemistatUniversity of Southern Denmark.Herresearch interests focus onthe (1)electrocatalysisrelatedenergy conversion materials especially fuel cells,electrolyzers& super capacitors and (2) preciousmetal chemistry related circular economy and recyclingtechnologies.Dr. Lu earned his bachelor degree inBeijing UniversityofTechnologyin 2002. He completed his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical Engineeringat University of SouthernDenmark in 2007.