Oct 30, 2026
Collaboration achieves up to 97% CO selectivity and 400 mA cm⁻² at 2.9 V using scalable Au/C catalyst technology, enabling readily deployable membrane electrode assemblies for CO₂ electrolyzer developers
Freiburg, Germany & Gothenburg, Sweden, 30.10.2026 – ionysis GmbH and NanoScientifica Scandinavia AB today announced the successful demonstration of high-performance membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for CO₂ electrolysis based on NanoScientifica's commercially available Au/C catalyst integrated into ionysis' advanced MEA manufacturing platform.
The jointly developed MEAs achieved carbon monoxide (CO) selectivities of up to approximately 97% while operating at current densities of up to 800 mA cm⁻², demonstrating performance competitive with today’s CO₂-to-CO electrolysis systems reported in literature. The results establish a commercially relevant foundation for offering ready-to-use MEA products to the growing CO₂ electrolysis market.
Unlike development programs in the sector that rely on proprietary catalysts and in-house electrode manufacturing, the collaboration between ionysis and NanoScientifica is built around a scalable supply chain model designed to accelerate market adoption and create economies of scale.
Electrochemical testing revealed strong performance across a broad operating window:
CO selectivities exceeding 95% across much of the tested current density range
Peak CO selectivity of approximately 97%
Strong suppression of hydrogen evolution across the primary operating window
CO selectivity of approximately 87% at 800 mA cm⁻²
The results validate that commercially available catalyst technology combined with optimized electrode engineering can deliver performance suitable for industrially relevant CO₂ electrolysis applications.
"In today's CO₂ electrolysis market, many companies develop their own catalyst materials while simultaneously building internal MEA manufacturing capabilities," said Dr. Joey Disch, Head of Electrolysis Development at ionysis GmbH. "While this approach may be appropriate for some well-financed vertically integrated developers, it limits economies of scale across the industry. We want to provide customers now with a robust state-of-the-art electrochemical core that allows them to focus on developing and commercializing electrolyzer systems rather than becoming catalyst and electrode manufacturers themselves."
As CO₂ electrolysis moves from laboratory validation toward commercial deployment, many system developers increasingly require proven electrochemical components that can be integrated directly into their stacks. For these companies, developing proprietary catalysts, establishing coating processes, and building electrode production infrastructure can represent significant additional investment and development risk.
Through the combination of NanoScientifica's catalyst technology and ionysis' CCM and MEA manufacturing expertise, the companies are addressing this market need with a solution that is both high-performing and scalable.
"We are very pleased to have ionysis as a partner," said Alfred Karlsson, CEO of NanoScientifica Scandinavia AB. "Through this partnership, developers who do not make their own electrodes can now access this performance in a ready-made MEA. Our catalyst uses 2–3 nm gold particles, designed for high performance and metal utilization, and our continuous flow process keeps that precision as production scales up. These results are a strong starting point as we further optimize catalyst and electrode together."
The collaboration enables ionysis to offer competitive MEA products for customers that seek rapid system development without investing in in-house catalyst, CCM, or MEA manufacturing capabilities.
Carbon monoxide produced through electrochemical CO₂ conversion is a key building block for sustainable fuels, syngas production, and carbon-based chemicals. The companies believe that establishing a reliable commercial supply chain for high-performance MEAs will be an important step toward broader industrial adoption of CO₂ electrolysis technologies.
Building on the successful demonstration, ionysis and NanoScientifica intend to continue their collaboration through additional product development, customer validation projects, and further optimization of commercial CO₂ electrolysis components.
About ionysis
ionysis GmbH develops highly efficient, emission-free and sustainable core components for fuel cells, electrolyzers and emerging electrochemical applications. The company focuses on membrane-electrode assemblies and catalyst-coated membranes with significantly reduced or fully eliminated fluorinated materials. ionysis was founded as a spin-off from Hahn-Schickard and the University of Freiburg and combines deep electrochemical expertise with scalable coating and manufacturing know-how. The company’s mission is to enable high-performance, industrially relevant and more sustainable electrochemical technologies for the transition toward a defossilized energy and chemical industry.
About NanoScientifica
NanoScientifica Scandinavia AB makes size- and shape-controlled metal nanomaterials by continuous flow synthesis. The company tailors particle morphology, loading and support to each application and produces at kilogram scale per week per reactor while keeping the particle control of the lab. Applications include catalysis, conductive inks and sensors. Founded in 2020 as a spin-out from Chalmers University of Technology, NanoScientifica is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. www.nanoscientifica.com
Test data:
The cell configuration consisted of:
Cathode gas diffusion electrode (GDE) based on NanoScientifica Au/C catalyst
IrOx catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) anode
20 μm anion exchange membrane (AEM)
Testing was performed in a zero-gap electrolyzer with a 4 cm² active cell area. Operating conditions included a cell temperature of 50°C, bubbler temperature of 30°C, a CO₂ flow rate of 100 mL min⁻¹, and a 10 mM Cs₂CO₃ anolyte.