The main goal of this master thesis is the evaluation of alkaline water electrolysis for using in a combination with combustion engines to save energy and fuel reduction. Literature provides an insight into general principles of the electrolytic process as well as the influence of electrolysis parameters on energy efficiency. Theoretical analysis of possible corrosion processes represents another main focus of this work. Several experimental tests were performed to investigate the influence of the electrode surface roughness, the anode and cathode material as well as the electrolyte temperature on the process. Another very important parameter is the size of the gap between the electrodes. The gas bubble formation on the electrodes and the bubble size distribution turns out to be the most important factors, which are primarily influenced by the surface roughness and the size of electrode gap. The bubbles have to rise up as fast as possible and should not form a stable suspension to increase efficiency. The experiments showed that rough electrode surfaces in combination with a small gap between the electrodes (approx. 1 mm) provide best results. A further part of this work, are long-term corrosion tests using bulk metals as electrode material. Nickel and stainless steel anodes show the best results regarding corrosion resistance. Copper, iron, nickel and steel are possible cathode materials. As a result of the experiments nickel plates are the best choice to use as anode and cathode material.