The development of materials and cell components for PEM water electrolysis has been hampered hitherto by the capacity of test benches. In this work, a miniature test cell for PEM electrolysis is presented that hugely increases data throughput in comparison to contemporary cell tests. The developed test cell, with an active area of 1.2 cm(2), consists of a titanium flange in which the CCM can quickly be inserted and compressed with a clamping ring. Water is supplied to the cell without the use of pumps, with only a water reservoir connected to the anode side. The simple cell construction and easy cell operation will therefore enable very low costs for the cell components' characterization. As part of the experimental design, the setup of the cell design could be optimized. The reproducibility of the cell was confirmed by repeating measurements and could be quantified to four percent. The innovation presented here will result in transformative improvements in materials characterization for low temperature water electrolyzers and potentially also in a multitude of areas in energy conversion/storage and sensors. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society.All rights reserved.