A comparison between innovative material for fuel cell electrodes with respect to the traditional ones was performed in order to quantify the benefits from an energetic point of view. A model was used to describe and predict the performance of the single fuel cell, with a high focus on the degradation processes, found to be very important in the comparison between traditional and novel electrodes. Finally, the energetic assessment was made simulating the behaviour of a micro-cogeneration heat and power installation for a residential user, with the final aim of quantifying the energetic advantage, during the whole lifespan of the system, of using a novel electrode.