Accelerating Sustainable Hydrogen Production: A Scalable Machine Learning Approach for Predictive Modeling and Performance Assessment of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

This study investigates machine learning techniques for predicting the behavior of proton exchange membrane electrolyzers, which are vital for sustainable hydrogen production. This work addresses these challenges by integrating artificial neural networks to develop predictive models capable of capturing the performance of proton exchange membrane electrolyzers with high accuracy. This research utilizes a multi-layer perceptron network architecture, optimized through rigorous data preprocessing, parameter tuning, and error minimization strategies. The dataset used was based on published PEME numerical simulation datasets and encompasses key performance indicators, including stack voltage, water transport, and electrochemical reactions. The trained artificial neural networks models achieved mean squared error values of 3.66 × 10−5 and 9.75 × 10−6, with correlation coefficients of 0.99996 and 0.99958, demonstrating near-perfect predictive accuracy. A comparative benchmarking study against alternative regression algorithms revealed that the proposed MLP models significantly outperformed Gradient Boosting and Random Forest by several orders of magnitude, thereby establishing a higher level of persuasiveness and reliability for the developed framework. Average deviation rates of 0.11% and −0.01% further validated model reliability. The novelty of this work lies in its comprehensive approach, which goes beyond isolated metrics by addressing interactions across system parameters. This integrated framework enables enhanced prediction, control, and optimization of proton exchange membrane electrolyzer’s performance, setting a new benchmark for leveraging machine learning in hydrogen energy systems. These findings pave the way for scalable, cost-effective solutions to improve proton exchange membrane electrolyzers’ efficiency and operational reliability.