From our San Antonio, TX operation, we supply the critical building blocks for advanced electrolyzer stacks. We provide ultra-high-purity Yttrium Oxide and Zirconium Oxide for SOEC electrolyte layers, alongside Strontium Carbonate and Cerium (IV) Oxide for LSCF work. For alkaline and AEM systems, we manufacture reagent-grade Potassium Hydroxide, supplemented by Cobalt (II) Hydroxide and high-purity Nickel (II) Oxide. Platinum-group metal catalysts including Iridium (IV) Oxide, Ruthenium (IV) Oxide, Iridium (III) Chloride, and Platinum (IV) Chloride are stocked for catalyst-coated membrane and sputter deposition workflows. Every lot is validated via ICP-OES so trace-metal tolerances stay locked from R&D through commercial scale.
A hydrogen electrolyzer is an electrochemical device that uses electricity to split water (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) gases. When the input electricity comes from renewable sources, the resulting hydrogen is classified as green hydrogen. The four production architectures (PEM, alkaline, AEM, and SOEC) each use a distinct electrolyte chemistry and a distinct catalyst pair, which is why the inorganic feedstock specification differs sharply from one stack design to the next.
Four electrolyzer architectures dominate green hydrogen production today, each with distinct chemistry requirements. Find your technology below to see which Noah Chemicals materials it depends on, then jump to the detailed material specifications.
PEM electrolyzers use a solid polymer electrolyte to conduct protons under low-pH operating conditions, enabling rapid load-following for renewable energy integration.
Alkaline electrolyzers run a concentrated KOH solution between nickel electrodes, the longest-deployed and most cost-mature electrolyzer chemistry for industrial-scale hydrogen.
AEM electrolyzers combine alkaline-side chemistry with a polymer membrane, enabling lower-cost catalysts than PEM while delivering compact stack designs and rapid response. Literature-stage non-PGM AEM catalyst chemistries are accelerating commercial pull on Ni and Co precursor purity.
SOEC stacks operate with a ceramic electrolyte, achieving the highest hydrogen production efficiency by harvesting industrial waste heat to reduce electrical input.
Each electrolyzer chemistry imposes different purity, particle size, and trace-metal tolerances on its inorganic feedstock. This table summarizes the operating window and the Noah-supplied materials for each stack architecture.
| Electrolyzer | Electrolyte | Anode Catalyst | Cathode / Other | Noah Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PEM | Solid polymer (Nafion) | Iridium (IV) Oxide (OER) | Platinum (HER) | IrO2, IrCl3, PtCl4 |
| Alkaline | 30-40 wt% Potassium Hydroxide | Nickel-based | Nickel electrodes | KOH (ACS Reagent / high-purity solution), NiO |
| AEM | Solid polymer (alkaline) | Ruthenium (IV) Oxide | Co(OH)2, NiO | Co(OH)2, NiO, RuO2 |
| SOEC | 8 mol% Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (8YSZ) | LSCF (La/Sr/Co/Fe) | Ni-YSZ cermet | Y2O3, ZrO2, LaCl3·7H2O, SrCO3, CeO2, Co(OH)2, NiO |
Every material below is supplied through Noah and verified by ICP-OES to meet the trace-metal purity thresholds that PEM, alkaline, AEM, and SOEC stack builders require. Catalyst activity, membrane durability, and stack lifetime all start here.
Each material below ships with a Certificate of Analysis covering particle size distribution via laser diffraction and an ICP-OES trace-metal panel. These specifications give PEM, alkaline, and SOEC stack builders the data they need to qualify and re-order without retesting.
Iridium (IV) Oxide is the workhorse oxygen evolution catalyst for PEM electrolyzer anodes operating in low-pH conditions where most other transition metal oxides dissolve. Noah supplies IrO2 at 99.8% purity, 100 mesh, ICP-OES validated for trace-metal control. Rutile-phase IrO2 delivers higher long-term OER stability at the cost of lower initial mass activity compared to amorphous hydrous iridium oxide; commercial PEM stacks generally favor the rutile route because durability across thousands of operating hours wins out over peak day-one activity. Given iridium's extreme scarcity and the procurement pressure scaling electrolyzer fleets are putting on global PGM supply, every milligram has to perform. Iridium (III) Chloride is similarly stocked as the soluble precursor route customers use for catalyst-coated membrane fabrication and sputter deposition.
Yttria-stabilized zirconia is a ceramic electrolyte used in solid oxide electrolyzer cells because it conducts oxygen ions at temperatures typically between 700 and 850 degrees Celsius. Solid Oxide Electrolyzer builders formulate their own YSZ to lock in proprietary doping ratios and sintering behavior. Noah supplies the precursor pair that makes that possible: Yttrium Oxide at purities up to 99.999% with sub-2-micron particle size, and Zirconium Oxide processed to tape-casting and screen-printing tolerances. Tight precursor purity helps eliminate the silica and alumina contamination that destroys ionic conductivity in the operating window. Customers blend at 8 mole percent yttria to deliver the cubic-stabilized zirconia phase used in commercial solid-oxide electrolyzer electrolyte films, or run their own gradient compositions for graded electrolyte layers. We also supply Yttria-Stabilized Hafnia for high-temperature ceramics where zirconia phase stability is insufficient.
High-purity Potassium Hydroxide is the alkaline electrolyte used in alkaline water electrolyzer cells because its hydroxide ion conductivity remains stable across the operating temperature window. Noah manufactures reagent-grade KOH solution, typically formulated at 30-40 percent by weight for electrolyzer baths, with exceptionally low levels of carbonate, chloride, and metallic contaminants. KOH pellets are also stocked. Carbonate impurities can precipitate within the porous electrodes or membrane, increasing ionic resistance and reducing efficiency. Chlorides and other halides accelerate corrosion of nickel electrodes, leading to premature system failure. Our quality control, including ICP-OES analysis, guarantees that our KOH meets the sub-ppm specifications required to prevent electrode passivation and membrane fouling, ensuring stable operation for commercial-scale alkaline electrolyzers.
Ruthenium (IV) Oxide is a platinum-group metal oxide used as an oxygen evolution catalyst because it delivers competitive OER kinetics in alkaline and AEM environments at lower precious metal cost than iridium. For developers building toward iridium-free or low-iridium electrolyzers, RuO2 is the leading platinum-group alternative for oxygen evolution. Noah supplies anhydrous RuO2 at 99.95% purity, 100 mesh, with the hydrate form (RuO2·xH2O) stocked for solution-phase deposition. Ruthenium (III) Chloride trihydrate and the anhydrous form are similarly in stock as soluble catalyst precursors for sputter and atomic layer deposition workflows. This matters as electrolyzer fleets scale into the gigawatt range and PGM availability becomes a procurement constraint.
Four structural advantages that matter to hydrogen technology buyers - particularly programs serving defense, the DOE Hydrogen Hubs, and OEMs that need a US supply partner with full chain-of-custody on every lot.
Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzers run a deionized water or dilute KOH feed (typically below 1 molar) against a polymer membrane, allowing developers to use lower-cost catalysts than PEM while keeping a compact stack. Ruthenium (IV) Oxide is the leading platinum-group oxygen evolution catalyst at the anode, with Cobalt (II) Hydroxide and Nickel (II) Oxide used as cost-reduced alternatives or co-catalysts. Literature-stage non-PGM AEM catalyst chemistries continue to advance, driving commercial demand for high-purity Ni and Co precursors. Noah supplies Cobalt (II) Hydroxide and Nickel (II) Oxide in ICP-OES-validated form for catalyst-coated membrane fabrication, and stocks high-purity PGM oxides (RuO2, IrO2) for AEM and PEM programs.
A hydrogen electrolyzer is an electrochemical device that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity, typically powered by renewable energy to produce green hydrogen. The four main electrolyzer types are PEM (proton exchange membrane), alkaline, AEM (anion exchange membrane), and SOEC (solid oxide electrolyzer cell), and each requires different high-purity inorganic materials. Noah Chemicals supplies the catalyst precursors, ceramic precursors, and electrolyte chemicals for all four electrolyzer architectures, with every lot validated by ICP-OES to ensure trace-metal tolerances meet the standards required by ISO 14687 hydrogen fuel quality and downstream fuel cell applications.
A hydrogen electrolyzer works by passing electric current through water in the presence of an electrolyte and two catalysts, splitting the water molecule into hydrogen at the cathode and oxygen at the anode. In a PEM electrolyzer, Iridium Oxide on the anode catalyzes oxygen evolution and Platinum on the cathode catalyzes hydrogen evolution, while a proton exchange membrane separates the two half-cells. In alkaline electrolyzers, Potassium Hydroxide solution serves as the ionic conductor between nickel-based electrodes. Noah supplies the high-purity catalysts and electrolytes for each electrolyzer type, with full Certificate of Analysis documentation for every lot.
Noah validates every lot of platinum group metal catalyst, including Iridium, Ruthenium, and Platinum compounds, using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) to certify trace-metal purity. This screens for detrimental trace metals like iron, chromium, copper, and zinc that can poison catalytic sites or degrade membrane ionomers. Our secure PGM sourcing chain ensures material authenticity and ethical procurement. We work directly with catalyst-coated membrane developers to support catalyst loading (mg/cm²) and particle morphology decisions, helping balance the high performance our materials deliver with the cost pressure of scarce PGM resources.
Noah locks in a detailed specification sheet after initial qualification and reports key parameters on every Certificate of Analysis: particle size distribution (D10, D50, D90) via laser diffraction, alongside ICP-OES trace-metal analysis. For SOEC ceramic precursors like Yttrium Oxide, Zirconium Oxide, Lanthanum Chloride Heptahydrate, Strontium Carbonate, Cerium (IV) Oxide, and the cobalt and nickel component compounds, lot-to-lot consistency is non-negotiable for high-yield production downstream. That ensures flow, packing, and sintering behavior remain identical from the first kilogram to the thousandth, which is what customers need to formulate their own YSZ and LSCF compositions reliably across tape casting, screen printing, and spray deposition runs.
Noah Chemicals supplies high-purity KOH solutions packaged under an inert nitrogen blanket and shipped in sealed containers with a Certificate of Analysis guaranteeing carbonate levels below 100 ppm. Carbonate contamination is a primary failure mode in alkaline systems, occurring when aqueous KOH absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide to form potassium carbonate (K2CO3). This salt has low solubility in concentrated KOH and can precipitate, fouling AEM membranes and passivating nickel-based electrodes, drastically reducing system efficiency. The nitrogen-blanket packaging protects the integrity of your electrolyte from receipt all the way to your production line.
Noah Chemicals supplies the high-purity inorganic catalysts and ceramic precursors that go into PEM, alkaline, AEM, and SOEC electrolyzer stacks. Our customer base spans tier-1 OEMs, national labs, DOE Hydrogen Hub partners, and catalyst-coated membrane developers. Custom supply arrangements for proprietary catalyst formulations are handled under strict NDA. Every order ships with full lot traceability and a Certificate of Analysis, scaling from R&D screening volumes through multi-ton commercial deployment.
Noah supports hydrogen R&D programs from initial material screening through multi-ton commercial deployment. Minimum order quantities are set on a per-material basis depending on sourcing, packaging, and the trace-metal QC required. R&D-scale orders ship with the same rigorous Certificate of Analysis and full lot traceability as commercial volumes, which is critical for partners in DOE-funded programs including the DOE Hydrogen Hub projects, where an auditable transition from bench-scale validation to pilot deployment is required. Contact our team for the specific MOQ on the material you need.
