The use of carbon-based energy sources leads to the formation of carbon dioxide, which significantly contributes to rapid environmental pollution. Therefore, the production of green hydrogen as a "clean" energy carrier is particularly important, as it can be obtained directly from renewable energy sources through water electrolysis. It is well known that electrodes made from noble metals exhibit the highest activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, their high cost prevents widespread industrial-scale application for hydrogen production. To enable a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable hydrogen economy, it is crucial to produce hydrogen at a lower cost. The development of new, inexpensive electrocatalytic materials capable of efficiently facilitating electron transfer in hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) at low overpotentials is of paramount importance. This review summarizes the historical background, challenges, and significance of hydrogen production through water electrolysis, addressing its past, present, and future prospects. It compiles the latest advances in overcoming HER kinetic barriers and synthesizing new, efficient catalysts based on binary and ternary alloys of nickel and other iron-group metals as alternatives to noble-metal electrodes. Iron group metals and their alloys are among the potential candidates that can meet most of the requirements for electrodes in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The development of low-cost and high-performance electrocatalytic materials made from inexpensive and abundantly available elements, which can be easily produced on a large scale, is a pressing issue in hydrogen production via water electrolysis. The review also discusses electrolyzer designs for the successful implementation of water splitting through electrolysis, as well as methods for storing the produced hydrogen.

doi.org/10.32737/0005-2531-2025-2-5-20