One of the grand challenges facing humanity today is the development of an alternative energy system that is safe, clean, and sustainable and where combustion of fossil fuels no longer dominates. A distributed renewable electrochemical energy and mobility system (DREEMS) could meet this challenge. At the foundation of this new energy system are a number of electrochemical devices including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and flow batteries. For all these devices electrocatalysis plays a critical role in controlling their performance and cost, and thus their commercial viability. In this presentation, I will focus on our recent work on electrocatalysis for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells. In particular I will discuss the hydrogen oxidation mechanisms in base and the development of non-precious metal based hydrogen oxidation catalysts that can replace platinum.