Hydrogen Embrittlement: Mechanisms, Mitigation Strategies, and Materials Innovation for Sustainable Energy and Industrial Applications

Hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a key energy carrier for achieving global decarbonization and supporting the transition toward sustainable energy systems. The widespread deployment of hydrogen technologies, including water electrolysis, fuel cells, hydrogen storage systems, and transportation infrastructure, requires materials capable of maintaining long-term structural integrity under hydrogen-rich environments. However, hydrogen embrittlement remains one of the most significant challenges affecting the performance and reliability of metallic materials. Hydrogen can penetrate metals through electrochemical and environmental processes, resulting in reduced ductility, premature cracking, and catastrophic failure. Recent advances in electrochemistry, materials chemistry, surface engineering, advanced characterization techniques, and computational modelling have significantly improved our understanding of hydrogen–material interactions, creating new opportunities for the development of hydrogen-resistant materials and mitigation strategies.The successful implementation of a hydrogen-based economy depends on the availability of materials that can safely withstand hydrogen exposure throughout their service life. Despite considerable progress, major scientific challenges remain in understanding the complex relationships between hydrogen transport, microstructural evolution, electrochemical reactions, and mechanical degradation. The diversity of materials, environmental conditions, and service stresses encountered in hydrogen technologies further complicates the prediction and prevention of hydrogen-induced failures. This Research Topic aims to bring together researchers from chemistry, electrochemistry, materials science, corrosion science, and engineering disciplines to address these challenges through innovative experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches. Particular emphasis will be placed on emerging advances in operando and in-situ characterization techniques, atomistic and multiscale modelling, surface modification strategies, advanced alloy design, and artificial intelligence-assisted materials discovery. By integrating fundamental insights with practical applications, this collection seeks to accelerate the development of reliable materials and mitigation strategies for hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization systems. The resulting contributions will help advance both scientific understanding and technological implementation of hydrogen-enabled sustainable energy infrastructure.This Research Topic welcomes Original Research Articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, and Methods papers addressing fundamental and applied aspects of hydrogen embrittlement and hydrogen-compatible materials. Areas of interest include:• Fundamental mechanisms of hydrogen uptake, transport, trapping, and diffusion• Electrochemical aspects of hydrogen generation and absorption• Hydrogen-induced cracking, fracture, and degradation mechanisms• Corrosion-hydrogen interactions in complex environments• Advanced experimental characterization of hydrogen-material interactions• High-strength steels, stainless steels, titanium alloys, aluminium alloys, and emerging materials for hydrogen service• Surface engineering, coatings, inhibitors, and protective technologies• Computational modelling, multiscale simulations, and data-driven approaches• Artificial intelligence and machine learning for hydrogen degradation prediction• Materials for hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization systems Topic editors: Abhinay Thakur, OMAR DAGDAG, Priyabrata Banerjee, Eno E Ebenso Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83270/hydrogen-embrittlement-mechanisms-mitigation-strategies-and-materials-innovation-for-sustainable-energy-and-industrial-applications