The Conference is organized by IAHE Fuel Cell Division, hosted by the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) and the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA).

The WFCC is a multidisciplinary conference on the latest development and advancement of hydrogen and fuel cells, and provides a forum for the exchange of the latest scientific and technical information, for the dissemination of high-quality research results, and for the debate and shaping of future directions and priorities in hydrogen fuel cell science, technology, engineering, application and commercialization. This conference is targeting technical issues and interconnections between fuel cells and hydrogen.

Call for Abstracts

Conference Committee

Conference Chair

Xianguo Li, University of Waterloo, Canada

Conference Co-chairs

Tobias Brunner, Hynergy GmbH, Germany

Ibrahim Dincer, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada

Zifeng Ma, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China

Sushanta Mitra, University of Waterloo, Canada

Jean St-Pierre, University of Hawaii, USA

Jianbo Zhang, Tsinghua University, China

International Advisory Board

Michael Guiver, Tianjin University, China

Liejin Guo, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China

Yu Morimoto, Toyota, Japan

Minggao Ouyang, Tsinghua University, China

John W. Sheffield, International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE)

Shi-Gang Sun, Xiamen University, China

Wenquan Tao, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China

Ayer Veziroglu, International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE)

Chao-Yang Wang, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Baolian Yi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Tianshou Zhao, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

International Organizing Committee

Aimy Bazylak, University of Toronto, Canada

Pierre Benard, University of Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, Canada

Dmitri Bessarabov, North-West University, South Africa

Sharon Blair, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Siew Hwa Chan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Kuei-Hsien Chen, Academia Sinica & National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Zhongwei Chen, University of Waterloo, Canada

Abel Chuang, University of California Merced, USA

Prodip Das, Newcastle University, UK

Shangfeng Du, University of Birmingham, UK

Michael Eikerling, Institute of Energy and Climate Research, Germany

Michael Fowler, University of Waterloo, Canada

Jeffrey Gostick, University of Waterloo, Canada

Marc Secanell Gallart, University of Alberta, Canada

Minfang Han, Tsinghua University, China

Zhongjun Hou, Shanghai Hydrogen Propulsion Technology Co., Ltd., China

John Irvine, University of St Andrews, UK

San Ping Jiang, Curtin University, Australia

Kui Jiao, Tianjin University, China

Olivera Kesler, University of Toronto, Canada

Hongtan Liu, University of Miami, USA

Pingwen Ming, Tongji University, China

Atsushi OHMA, Nissan Motor Company, Japan

Ugur Pasaogullari, University of Connecticut, USA

Bruno G. Pollet, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Zhiguo Qu, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China

Zhigang Shao, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China

Minhua Shao, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Pei Kang Shen, Guangxi University, China

Zhiqing (Ken) Shi, National Research Council of Canada, Canada

Yujiang Song, Dalian University of Technology, China

Pengtao Sun, University of Nevada, USA

Yun Wang, University of California, Irvine, USA

Zidong Wei, Chongqing University, China

XiaoYu Wu, University of Waterloo, Canada

Jinyue Yan, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Mälardalen University (MDH), Sweden

Hongmei Yu, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China

Yan Yin, Tianjin University, China

Nada Zamel, Fraunhofer Institute, Germany

Caizhi Zhang, Chongqing University, China

Junliang Zhang, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China

Xun Zhu, Chongqing University, China

Lin Zhuang, Wuhan University, China

Local Organizing Committee

Isabella McKenzie, University of Waterloo, Canada (imckenzie@uwaterloo.ca)

Lisa Pokrajac, University of Waterloo, Canada (lisa.pokrajac@uwaterloo.ca)

Osamah Siddiqui, Ontario Tech University

Oleg Stukalov, University of Waterloo, Canada (oleg.stukalov@uwaterloo.ca)

Aman Somel, University of Waterloo, Canada (asomel@uwaterloo.ca)

Jian Zhao, University of Waterloo, Canada (jian.zhao@uwaterloo.ca)

Conference Program

Please go to the conference platform for the detailed conference agenda:

https://wfcc2021.us2.pathable.com/agenda

Please Click Here to Download the Conference Program (.pdf)

Invited Plenary Speakers

Laurent Antoni

  • CEA Liten, France;

  • President, Hydrogen Europe Research

  • Presentation Title

  • High temperature electrolysis and alternative fuel feeding strategy and architecture of PEM Fuel Cell Stack to improve performance and stability while reducing costs of hydrogen production and usage

Tobias Christoph Brunner

  • Managing Director, Hynergy GmbH, Germany and Cryomotive GmbH, Germany, and former Vice President, Hydrogen Business Great Wall Motor China

  • Presentation Title

  • Hydrogen on the Way to Competitiveness – A Hydrogen Cost and Decarbonization Perspective

Zhongwei Chen

  • Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) Professor in Advanced Materials for Clean Energy at the University of Waterloo, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC), Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE), Director of Waterloo Center for Electrochemical Energy, Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, and Vice President of International Academy of Electrochemical Energy Science

  • Presentation Title

  • Advanced Platinum and Non-Platinum Catalysts for PEM Fuel Cells

Ahmed F. Ghoniem

  • Ronald C. Crane Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Director of the Center for Energy and Propulsion Research and the Reacting Gas Dynamics Laboratory

  • Presentation Title

  • Thermochemical Production of Green and Grey hydrogen

Craig Gittleman

  • General Motors, USA

  • Presentation Title

  • Materials Research and Development Focus Areas for Low Cost Automotive Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Michael D. Guiver

  • Tianjin University, China

  • Presentation Title

  • Innovations in Fuel Cell Membranes

David Hart

  • Director of E4tech, a Switzerland- and UK-based business consulting company specialising in sustainable energy

  • Visiting Professor at Imperial College London

  • Presentation Title

  • How fuel cells can help both recovery and climate in a post-covid world

Shigeki Hasegawa

  • Toyoto Motor Company, Japan

  • Presentation Title

  • Physical Modeling of Fuel Cell System and Application to Product System and Control Development

Jun Liu

  • University of Washington

  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  • Presentation Title

  • Electrons or Hydrogen – The Choices for Future Energy Storage

Asmae Mokrini

  • Team Lead and Senior Research Officer at the Automotive and Surface Transportation Research Center of the National Research Council Canada

  • Presentation Title

  • Novel Manufacturing Opportunities for PEM Cost Reduction and Durability Improvement

Sunita Satyapal

  • Director, Hydrogen and Fuel cell Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

  • Presentation Title

  • U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Perspectives

Detlef Stolten

  • Professor and Director of the Institute of Techno-Economic Systems Analysis (IEK-3) at Juelich Research Center, Germany

  • Chair for fuel cells at RWTH Aachen University

  • Presentation Title

  • Hydrogen Becoming a Commodity: A Requisite for Future Carbon-neutral Energy Systems Getting Reliable and Affordable

Xueliang Andy Sun

  • Professor and senior Canada Research Chair (Tier I) at the University of Western Ontario, Canada

  • Presentation Title

  • Single Atom Electrocatalysts for PEM Fuel Cells: Opportunity, Challenge and Progress

Xiao-Zi Yuan

  • Research Officer at the Energy, Mines & Environment (EME) Research Centre of the National Research Council Canada (NRC)

  • Presentation Title

  • Quality Control of PEM Fuel Cell Components

Piotr Zelenay

  • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Presentation Title

  • Durability of PGM-Free ORR Catalysts: Recent Progress

Invited Keynote Speakers

Dmitri Bessarabov

  • HySA Center at NWU, South Africa: Director

  • Presentation Title

  • PEM technology for water electrolysis and electrochemical hydrogen compression

Li Chen

  • Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU) China

  • Presentation Title

  • Pore-scale and Multiscale Numerical Study of Physicochemical Processes in PEM Fuel Cell

Jeff Gostick

  • Associate Professor

  • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo

  • Presentation Title

  • Pore-Scale Modeling of Electrode Processes

Kui Jiao

  • Professor

  • Tianjin University

  • Presentation Title

  • Artificial intelligence assisted design of next-generation high-power-density proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Erik Kjeang

  • Associate Professor in Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, Canada and Canada Research Chair in Fuel Cell Science and Technology Development

  • Presentation Title

  • Fuel Cell Durability Improvements Guided by 4D In-situ X-ray Visualization

Linfa Peng

  • Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration in Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  • Presentation Title

  • Manufacturing of thin metallic bipolar plate for PEM fuel cells: development of forming and coating processes

Bruno G. Pollet

  • Full Professor of Renewable Energy at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

  • Leader of “NTNU Team Hydrogen” (the largest hydrogen R&D cluster in Norway)

  • Extraordinary Professor in Hydrogen Energy at the University of the Western Cape (South Africa)

  • President of the Green Hydrogen Division of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy

  • Presentation Title

  • Sonocatalysis – A “sound” process for producing hydrogen and catalytic materials for fuel cells and electrolyzers

Marc Secanell

  • Professor

  • University of Alberta, Canada

  • Presentation Title

  • Transient, multi-phase analysis of polymer electrolyte fuel cells: Insights from computational modeling at multiple scales and experiments

Samaneh Shahgaldi

  • Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair Tier II at the Chemistry, Bio-Chemistry and Physics department at the University of Quebec à Trois-Rivières

  • Presentation Title

  • Impact of Ionomer Ratio, Type and Design on Fuel Cell Performance and Durability under Different Operational Conditions

Shuhui Sun

  • Full Professor

  • Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Canada

  • Presentation Title

  • Low-Pt and Pt-free Catalysts for Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Simon Thiele

  • Professor

  • Jülich Research Center and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

  • Presentation Title

  • Novel concepts for membrane electrode assemblies in fuel cells and water electrolysers

Zixi Wang

  • Associated Professor

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, China

  • Presentation Title

  • High performance sealing technology for stack assembly in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)

Yan Xiang

  • Professor in Material Chemistry at Beihang University, China

  • Presentation Title

  • R&D Strategies for Low-cost High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Technology

Wei Yan

  • Associate Professor

  • Institute for Sustainable Energy, Shanghai University, China

  • Presentation Title

  • CO- and H2S-Tolerant Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Nada Zamel

  • Senior Scientist

  • Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, ISE, in Freiburg, Germany

  • Presentation Title

  • Catalyst coated membranes – their structure, their performance and their durability

Feng-Yuan Zhang

  • Professor and founding director of NanoHELP in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering at UT Space Institute, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

  • Presentation Title

  • Pathways to highly efficient hydrogen production: manipulating transport and electrochemical reaction with ultralow catalyst loading

Shiming Zhang

  • Associate Professor

  • Institute for Sustainable Energy, Shanghai University, China

  • Presentation Title

  • Modulation Strategy of Active sites in Carbon-based Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Specialized Sessions

Membrane Electrolyte Materials

Proton exchange membrane materials are key components determining PEMFC performance and durability. Topics from membrane components to ionomer materials in catalyst layers, hydrocarbon and PFSA membranes, proton exchange membranes (PEM) and anionic exchange membranes (AEM), membrane stabilization, from synthesis to membrane casting processes, and from R&D to membrane production are welcome in this session.

Invited Speaker:

Chulsung Bae

  • Ford Foundation Professor

  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA

  • Presentation Title

  • Molecular Engineering of Ion-Conducting Polymers for Electrochemical Energy Conversion Technologies

Jianhua Fang

  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  • Presentation Title

  • Fuel Cell Performances of Sulfonated Multiblock Copolymer Membranes

Panel Discussion Session

Panel Discussion Session #1

  • Topic: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology and Market Trends

  • Panel Date/Time: Tuesday, August 17, from 9:20 am – 10:50 am EDT (UTC-4)

  • Moderator: Dr. Tobias Brunner

  • Panelists:

    • Dr. Guoyan Hou, CTO Weichai-Ballard Hy-Energy Technologies Com., Ltd.; Technical Director of Ballard China

    • Dr. Sunita Satyapal, Director of US DOE EERE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office

    • Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, President Hydrogen Europe

    • Ju Wang, Deputy Secretary General Chinese SAE

    • Katsuhiko Hirose, CEO & Chief consultant HyWealth and visiting professor Kyushu University (formerly Toyota)

Panel Discussion Session #2

  • Topic: Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Roadmap and R&DDD Around the World

  • Panel Date/Time: 8:00 am ‐ 8:50 am on Augutst 19, 2021 (EDT)

  • Moderator: Dr. Jianbo Zhang, Tsinghua University

  • Panelists:

    • Tobias Brunner, HYNERGY GmbH, Germany

    • Ibrahim Dincer, Ontario Tech University, Canada

    • Marc Melaina, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, DOE, US

    • Minggao Ouyang, Tsinghua University, China

    • Yu Morimoto, Doshisha University, Japan

    • Jianbo Zhang, Tsinghua University, China

Panel Discussion Session #3

  • Topic: The Circular Economy and the Fuel Cell/Hydrogen Industry

  • Panel Date/Time: Friday, August 20, 2021, from 9:50 am – 10:50 am EDT (UTC-4)

  • Panel Moderator: Dr. Jean St‐Pierre, University of Hawaii

  • Panelists:

    • Dimitrios Papageorgopoulos, United States Department of Energy

    • Javier Dufour, IMDEA Energy Institute, Madrid

    • Jason Cox, Johnson Matthey, London

    • Jean St-Pierre, University of Hawaii

Panel Discussion Session #4

  • Topic: Computational Tools for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Analysis and Design

  • Panel Date/Time: 11:00 am ‐ 12:30 pm on Augutst 20, 2021 (EDT)

  • Moderator: Dr. Marc Secanell, University of Alberta

  • Panelists:

    • S. Beale, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany

    • M. Eikerling, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich (IEK-13), Germany

    • Weber, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

    • J. Gostick, University of Waterloo, Canada

    • M. Secanell, University of Alberta, Canada

Workshops

  • Andrei V. Tchouvelev

    • ISO/TC 197 Hydrogen Technologies, Chair

    • IAHE Hydrogen Safety Division, President

    • A.V. Tchouvelev & Associates, President & CEO

    • Presentation Title

      • Hydrogen Safety Best Practices

3MT contest

1st Place Prize Winners ($300 CAD):

  • “The intricacies of Modeling oxygen reduction reaction” by Lulu Zhang, University of Science and Technology.

  • “Structure-transport-performance investigation for PEMFC” by Zhiming Bao, Tianjin University.

2nd Place Prize Winners ($200 CAD):

  • “Automatic analysis of materials characterization data” by Mariah Batool, University of Connecticut.

  • '“Pseudo-steady state of high-frequency resistance for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: effect of in-plane heterogeneity”, by Yangbin Shao, Tsinghua University.

3rd Place Prize Winners ($100 CAD):

  • “Pore-scale study of oxygen reactive transport processes in PEM fuel cell catalyst layers” by Ruiyan Zhang, Xi’an Jiaotong University.

  • “Controllable preparation of electro-spray catalyst layer” by Yanan Liang, Tianjin University.

1st Place Prize Winner is sponsored by Anton Paar.

Click here to download the Handbook of the Virtual 3MT contest.

Eligibility

Graduate students (Master and PhD), who have obtained signed consent from their advisor in presenting their research content, are eligible to participate in 3MT contest.

Schedule

  • To enter the Virtual 3MT contest, students need to submit 1 page PPT, a recorded video according to the Rules and Recording and a signed letter from supervisor indicating the content is from the student’s thesis work to WFCC website, by August 5, 2021

  • The screening results will be released on the WFCC website on August 10, 2021. According to the number of PPT submissions, the panel will select no more than 20 candidates to participate in the Virtual 3MT contest.

  • The Virtual 3MT contest is to be held on 8:30 to 10:30 August 15 (EDT, or UTC-4), 2021. Each contestant will have 3 minutes to present and 2 minutes for Q&A.

Please note: No modification of the PPT material will be accepted after submission.

Award and Prizes

Winners in WFCC 3MT will receive a winning certificate, a plaque, and a cash prize.

Contact and Submission Address

  • sunyingts@163.com (Ms. Ying Sun)

Rules and Recording

  • Presentations are limited to 3 minutes and contestants - exceeding 3 minutes are disqualified.

  • Presentations are considered to have commenced when a presenter starts their presentation through speech (timing does not include the 3MT title slide and commences from when the competitor starts speaking.

  • Virtual recordings must meet the following criteria:

    • Filmed on the horizontal;

    • Filmed on a plain background;

    • Filmed from a static position;

    • Filmed from one camera angle;

  • A single static slide is permitted in the presentation (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of any description).

  • No additional props (e.g. costumes, musical instruments, laboratory equipment and animated backgrounds) are permitted within the recording.

  • Presentations are to be spoken word (e.g. no poems, raps or songs).

  • No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted within the video recording.

  • The decision of the adjudicating panel is final.

For details, please see https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/3mtvirtual-competitor-guide

For PPT and 3MT presentation: view presentations by previous 3MT finalists in https://threeminutethesis.uq.edu.au/watch-3mt

Judging Panel

  • Jianbo Zhang (Chair), Tsinghua University, China

  • Dincer Ibrahim, Ontario Tech University, Canada

  • Yu Morimoto, Doshisha University, Japan

  • Nada Zamel, Fraunhofer Institute, Germany

  • Feng-Yuan Zhang, University of Tennessee, USA

Screening Committee

  • Xianguo Li, University of Waterloo, Canada

  • Huiyuan Liu, University of Waterloo, Canada

  • Ying Sun, Tsinghua University, China

  • Jianbo Zhang, Tsinghua University, China

Judging Criteria

Each competitor will be assessed on the judging criteria listed below. Each criterion is equally weighted and has an emphasis on the audience.

Comprehension and Content

  • Did the presentation provide an understanding of the background and significance to the research question being addressed?

  • Did the presentation clearly describe the impact and/ or results of the research, including conclusions and outcomes?

  • Did the presentation follow a clear and logical sequence?

  • Was the thesis topic, research significance, results/impact and outcomes communicated in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience?

  • Did the presenter spend adequate time on each element of their presentation - or did they elaborate for too long on one aspect or was the presentation rushed?

Engagement and Communication

  • Did the oration make the audience want to know more?

  • Was the presenter careful not to trivialise or generalise their research?

  • Did the presenter convey enthusiasm for their research?

  • Did the presenter capture and maintain their audience’s attention?

  • Did the speaker have sufficient stage presence, eye contact and vocal range; maintain a steady pace, and have a confident stance?

  • Did the PowerPoint slide enhance the presentation - was it clear, legible, and concise?

Conference Platform

Publication

High-quality abstracts/papers submitted to WFCC 2021 will be recommended for publications in special issues being organized in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

Co-organizers

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Sponsors