Abstract: A membrane for extracting hydrogen from gaseous and gaseous-liquid mixtures at low temperature makes use of a palladium or palladium alloy substrate and permits reduction of the surface resistance of the substrate. The membrane includes combined coatings including vacuum-deposited palladium ions driven into the substrate with inert gas ions and an electrochemically applied catalyst coating in the form of palladium or palladium/platinum black. A method for fabricating the membrane and a method for using the membrane to separate ultra-pure hydrogen are also disclosed.