This paper presents a novel electrochemical test cell for fast screening and optimisation of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) used in the hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysers, called an "EasyTest" cell. The principle and the experimental possibilities of the cell are demonstrated in a study on the properties of nanostructured platinum films as electrocatalysts for hydrogen oxidation and generation. Platinum films are deposited by dc magnetron sputtering and are incorporated in MEAs with Nafion polymer electrolyte membrane. For comparison, results obtained using a MEA with commercially available Pt catalyst (ELAT (R) V21, Lot # MB030105-1, Pt loading 0.5 mg cm(-2), E-TEK) are also presented. The catalytic activity is assessed applying the conventional electrochemical methods of cyclic voltarnmetry and steady state polarisation. XRD and SEM spectroscopy are used for morphological study of the sputtered films. The results demonstrate the advantages of the EasyTest cell and show that magnetron sputtering is a simple and reliable method for deposition of electrocatalysts with homogeneous particle distribution, reproducible surface morphology, and precisely controlled loading. (c) 2007 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.