Which catalyst route fits your substrate?

The formulation is not a fixed answer. Component ratios are set against your substrate, your operating window and the KPI you are actually short of. There are three routes; this page tells you which one your material points at — including the case where the honest answer is that a precious-metal catalyst will not earn its keep on your material at all.

Work out which route your material points at

Two questions. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs in your browser.

What is your substrate?

Magnesium alloy (AZ31, AZ61, MgH₂)AB₂ metal hydrideAB₅ rare-earth hydrideElectrode / MEA / electrolyser

What are you short of?

Absorption / desorption speedCost, or oxidation resistanceCycle life

The three routes

Pd / MWCNT

When speed is what you are short of

Best forMagnesium alloys · fast charge/discharge modulesEvidenceTwo peer-reviewed Q1 papers. In AZ31 with 5 wt%: reversible capacity 6.15 → 6.89 wt% at 375 °C, absorption t90 662 → 446 s, desorption 1155 → 735 s, desorption activation energy 132.7 → 98.5 kJ/mol.LimitsNeeds roughly 325–375 °C for efficient desorption. At 350 °C absorption is actually slightly slower than the untreated alloy — we publish that too.

Pd / CeO₂ / C

When cost and oxidation resistance decide it

Best forAB₂ alloys · magnesium · cost-controlled solid-state systemsEvidenceCerium oxide creates oxygen vacancies that assist hydrogen spillover and interfacial transfer, which lowers the diffusion barrier. Cerium oxide costs roughly 700–1000× less than palladium, so this route carries a far lower precious-metal load for the same catalytic function.LimitsPerformance data for this route is being measured now at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology — three loadings against an unmodified control, on desorption temperature, absorption rate, desorption rate and capacity. Until those numbers exist we will not quote figures for this route, and we will not borrow the Pd/MWCNT papers' numbers for it.

Pd / RuO₂ / C

When the interface is electrochemical

Best forAdvanced fuel cells · early-stage water-electrolysis validationEvidenceRuthenium dioxide is an established oxygen-evolution material; combined with palladium on a carbon support it targets high conductivity and a specific electrochemical interface rather than solid-state hydrogen storage.LimitsThis is a different application family from the two above. If your problem is a storage bed rather than an electrode, this is not your route.

A question worth answering before you ask it: why not simply add nano palladium to everything?

Because on AB₅ rare-earth hydride it would largely be wasted. AB₅ already has a very low surface dissociation and diffusion barrier — it works at room temperature. The barrier our catalyst exists to break is not present on that material, so an expensive catalyst buys very little. On magnesium the situation is the opposite: the material has a 7.6 wt% theoretical ceiling but a thick surface oxide and a high dissociation barrier, and that is precisely the lock this catalyst was designed as the key for.

What each component actually does

A formulation is these three doing different jobs. Change the ratio and you change which job dominates.

Nano palladium

Catalyses H₂ dissociation into mobile hydrogen atoms, breaking through the stubborn oxide layer on the magnesium surface.

Accelerates initial activation

CeO₂

Cerium oxide

Creates a high density of oxygen vacancies, which assist hydrogen spillover and transfer across the interface.

Lowers the diffusion barrier

C / MWCNT

Carbon · multi-walled nanotubes

Provides a high-surface-area 3D scaffold that keeps nanoparticles from agglomerating during milling and cycling.

Builds short-range transport paths

What it costs you to add this

Catalyst as a share of a finished storage vessel

Roughly 2.9% of vessel cost

In a solid-state hydrogen vessel the alloy powder is about 45% of total cost, and the transition-metal catalyst is 5–8% of that alloy. The rest is the heat exchanger and thermal management (28%), the pressure vessel (17%) and the valves and sensors (10%).

So the catalyst is a small fraction of the build — and it is the fraction that takes the material from 70–90 kg down to 14.5–16 kg per kilogram of hydrogen stored.

What we supply, and what we do not

	Who does this
The catalyst additive, 1–5 wt%	We do. This is the whole of what we sell.
The magnesium alloy or MgH₂ itself	We do not. Buy it where you buy it now — our additive goes into your existing powder and your existing process.
The finished storage vessel, valves, controls	We do not. System builders do that, and if that is what you need you should be talking to one.
Bulk magnesium by the tonne	We do not.

Why we draw the line there. Supplying finished magnesium-based storage material would pull in the research partner's own institutional and funding arrangements, which makes a simple evaluation slow and complicated. Supplying only the additive does not. You keep your alloy supply and your process; we change one input. That is the fastest route to a real number on your own equipment.

How a project starts

Tell us four things — substrate, target desorption temperature, usable capacity you need, and your cost ceiling. Cycle count if it matters.
We answer within two working days whether it is achievable, roughly how, and what is uncertain. If it is not a fit we say so rather than take a development fee for something that will not work.
Evaluation quantity, free up to 5 g. You run it on your own rig and get your own numbers. We would rather you measure it than take our word for it.
Technical call with the research team once your data is in hand.
Small-batch supply with a certificate of analysis per batch, then scale.

Frequently asked questions

Which catalyst route should I use for an AB₂ substrate?

Pd/CeO₂/C is the route specified for AB₂ alloys, magnesium, and solid-state systems where cost has to be controlled. Performance figures for this route are being measured now and we will not quote numbers until that work is finished.

Is a palladium catalyst worth adding to AB₅ rare-earth hydride?

Usually not. AB₅ already has a very low surface dissociation and diffusion barrier and operates at room temperature, so the marginal return from an expensive catalyst is poor. The barrier this catalyst is built to break is not present on that material. If capacity per kilogram is the problem, the conversation is about changing substrate, not adding catalyst.

How much does the catalyst add to the cost of a storage vessel?

In a solid-state vessel the alloy powder is about 45% of total cost and the transition-metal catalyst is 5–8% of that alloy, so the catalyst is roughly 2.9% of the finished vessel. That is the share that takes the material requirement from 70–90 kg down to 14.5–16 kg per kilogram of hydrogen.

Do you supply the magnesium alloy as well?

No. We supply the catalyst additive at 1–5 wt% only. You keep your existing alloy source and your existing process; we change one input. We do not supply finished storage vessels, valves or controls either.