Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) now start to witness industrial deployment. However, the durability of the cathode catalyst and electrode must still be improved to meet the requirements of heavy-duty mobility. The cathode catalyst can be improved by using more corrosion-resistant carbon support, e.g. based on graphitized carbon black [1], and by protecting the Pt-based nanoparticles with a carbon cap [2]. In the former case, the standard procedure to prepare PEMFC membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) (mixing the high surface area carbon black-supported platinum nanoparticles with appropriate ionomer in an ink, so to form the active layers of the cathode and anode after proper mixing and deposition [3, 4]) must be adapted in terms of ionomer-to-carbon ratio and ink mixing procedure [5]. In the latter one, engineering of the carbon cap requires a particular activation procedure [2]. In addition, the usual “randomly-organized” structure of the PEMFC MEA, optimized via decades of research [3, 4], can possibly be challenged by using more organized materials, compatible with fast mass-transport of reactant and products [6]. All these aspects will be addressed in this contribution. Acknowledgements: The PEMFC95 project was funded by France's "Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir" operated by the French National Research Agency (grant ANR-22-PEHY-0005) References [1] L. Castanheira, W.O. Silva, F.H.B. Lima, A. Crisci, L. Dubau, F. Maillard, Carbon corrosion in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells: Effect of the carbon structure, the degradation protocol, and the gas atmosphere, ACS Catal., 5 (2015) 2184-2194. [2] Q. Labarde, A. Godoy, L. Dubau, F. Micoud, M. Chatenet, Carbon-capped PtNi catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic environment: A durability study, Small Structures, (2024). [3] M.B. Sassin, Y. Garsany, B.D. Gould, K.E. Swider-Lyons, Fabrication Method for Laboratory-Scale High-Performance Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Fuel Cells, Anal. Chem., 89 (2017) 511-518. [4] S.S. Kocha, Principle of MEA preparation, in: W. Vielstich, A. Lamm, H.A. Gasteiger (Eds.) Handbook of Fuel Cells, Wiley, Chichester, 2003, pp. 538-565. [5] C. Lafforgue, P. Toudret, F. Micoud, M. Heitzmann, J.-F. Blachot, M. Chatenet, Manufacturing Of Graphitized Carbon-Supported Platinum Cathodes Of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Using The Doctor Blade Process: Microstructure And Performance, J. Electrochem. Soc., (2024). [6] M. Tempelaere, M. Zimmermann, M. Chatenet, 3D-structured electrocatalysts for improved mass-transfer in proton-exchange membrane fuel cell cathodes, Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, 41 (2023) 101353.