Here we report the discovery of a porous nitrogen-doped carbon (pN-C) as a superior support for PGM-based HOR catalysts. Comparing to the carbon black-supported counterparts, the PGM/pN-C catalysts exhibited much higher HOR activity. Microscopic, spectroscopic, and electrochemical investigations revealed the multiple roles of the the pN-C support. In particular, this support leads to the formation of Pt single atoms (SAs) for Pt-containing catalysts. These Pt SAs creates a favorable interfacial water structure. The optimized catalyst, PtRu/pN-C, has the highest reported intrinsic activity and mass activity in alkaline condition. An HEMFC with a low loading of this PtRu/pN-C HOR catalyst (0.16 mgPGM/cm 2 ) and a commercial Fe-N-C ORR catalyst achieves a peak power density of 1.46 W/cm 2 . The current density at 0.65 V of this HEMFC reaches 1.5 A/cm 2 , exceeding the US DOE 2022 target (1 A/cm 2 ) by 50 % while using a lower PGM loading and zero back pressure .