Tayyem, Abdullah Lefebvre, Victor Ko, Junghyuk Cho, Sung Ki Jang, Jong Hyun Lee, Jason Keonhag 2026-02-04T06:00:25Z 2026-02-04T06:00:25Z 2026-02-02 2026-02 0196-8904 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/154192 Cost reduction of clean hydrogen is of utmost priority to leverage widespread adoption of hydrogen technologies, and porous transport layers (PTL) are known to be a significant cost driver for proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers. This study reveals how the key morphological defects in the PTL that arise during manufacturing process can critically impact the performance of PEM water electrolyzers. A sintered titanium powder PTL was chosen as the baseline configuration for this model, due to its widespread use in commercial PEM water electrolyzers. Stochastic modelling is used to examine defects including thickness variations, positive protrusions, pinholes, porosity variations, cracks, and negative protrusions. Pore network modelling is used to characterize the impact of each defect on the transport properties, including single-phase and two-phase permeability as well as oxygen saturation profiles. Simulation results reveal that thickness variations and positive protrusions are defects that severely affect electrolysis, stemming from poor contact with the catalyst layer. They also significantly reduce single-phase permeability by increasing tortuosity. Furthermore, thickness variations and positive protrusions reduce water’s effective permeability by causing flooding of oxygen gas, preventing reactant water from reaching reaction sites. In contrast, cracks, negative protrusions, and pinholes are defects with minor impact on electrolysis. In fact, they enhance the single-phase and two-phase permeability of liquid water in the through-plane direction. Finally, we suggest an effective remediation strategy for certain defects, which is to simply reorient the defect PTL during cell assembly to mitigate the negative impacts. Implementing these strategies will contribute in reduction of capital costs for PEM water electrolyzers. English Elsevier Investigating the effect of porous transport layer defects on structural and transport properties in proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers Article 10.1016/j.enconman.2025.120988 1 Energy Conversion and Management, v.350 Energy Conversion and Management 350 Y scie scopus 001656282400002 2-s2.0-105026279138 Thermodynamics Energy & Fuels Mechanics Thermodynamics Energy & Fuels Mechanics Article Water electrolysis Porous transport layer Defect Pore network modelling Stochastic modelling