https://phys.org/news/2018-10-manganese-hydrogen-fuel-cells-catalyst.html

The advancement could eventually help solve hydrogen fuel cells' most frustrating problem: namely, they're not affordable because most catalysts are made with platinum, which is both rare and expensive.

"We haven't been able to advance a large-scale hydrogen economy because of this issue involving catalysts. But manganese is one of the most common elements in Earth's crust and it's widely distributed across the planet. It could finally address this problem," says lead author Gang Wu, Ph.D., associate professor of chemical and biological engineering in UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.