A research team led by professor Wonyoung Lee of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed a technology that addresses interfacial contact resistance, a key factor limiting the performance of protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs), a next-generation clean energy technology. The new approach improves both the energy efficiency and durability of the cells.

The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) are next-generation eco-friendly energy devices capable of operating in two modes within a single system: as fuel cells that generate clean electricity from hydrogen without producing pollutants and as electrolyzers that use electricity to split water and produce hydrogen.