Advances in the Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 September 2025 | Viewed by 852

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering Department, University of Sharjah, Sharjah PO. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates
Interests: fuel cells; renewable energy systems; membrane separation; energy storage
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah PO. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates
Interests: PEM fuel cells; electrochemical systems; energy storage; nanocomposite materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Engineering in the Department of Engineering at King's College London, Strand Campus, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK
Interests: energy storage systems; fuel cells; additive manufacturing; modeling and simulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the continuous increase in demand for renewable and sustainable energy sources, extensive research is being directed toward the development of alternative and sustainable methods of power generation. Fuel cells offer a promising alternative and are becoming widely accepted for clean power production. In particular, polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their all-solid structure and high power density. However, the commercialization of this technology has been a primary challenge due to issues associated with the cost of the different components of the fuel cell, such as the bipolar plates, membranes, and catalyst layers. Therefore, this Special Issue invites novel contributions in various topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • The design of PEMFC systems;
  • Advanced materials for various PEMFC components;
  • Modeling approaches for PEMFCs;
  • The management and optimization of PEMFC systems;
  • PEMFCs for automotive applications;
  • PEMFCs for aviation and aerospace;
  • PEMFCs for maritime applications;
  • PEMFCs for heat and power applications;
  • The diagnosis and prognosis of PEMFC systems;
  • High-temperature PEMFCs;
  • Machine learning for PEMFC applications;
  • Microbial PEMFCs.

Dr. Muhammad Tawalbeh
Dr. Amani Al-Othman
Dr. Tabbi Wilberforce
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
  • hydrogen fuel cells
  • novel materials
  • modeling and simulation
  • performance and durability
  • water and thermal management
  • automotive
  • techno-economic analysis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 5659 KB  
Article
Novel Flexible Proton-Conducting Gelatin-Based Green Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications and Flexible Electronics
by Muhammad Tawalbeh, Amaal Abdulraqeb Ali, Tallah Magdi Ahmed and Amani Al-Othman
Processes 2025, 13(9), 2753; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13092753 - 28 Aug 2025
Viewed by 380
Abstract
Natural polymers, such as gelatin, offer a sustainable, green, and versatile alternative for developing proton exchange membranes in low-temperature fuel cell applications. They provide a balance of biocompatibility, flexibility, and ionic conductivity. In this work, gelatin-based composite membranes are reported. The membranes were [...] Read more.
Natural polymers, such as gelatin, offer a sustainable, green, and versatile alternative for developing proton exchange membranes in low-temperature fuel cell applications. They provide a balance of biocompatibility, flexibility, and ionic conductivity. In this work, gelatin-based composite membranes are reported. The membranes were fabricated and modified with various additives, including ionic liquids (ILs), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and glycerol, to enhance their electrochemical and mechanical properties. The proton conductivity of the pure gelatin membrane was relatively low at 1.0368 × 10−4 Scm−1; however, the incorporation of IL ([DEMA][OMs]) significantly improved it, with the gelatin/0.2 g IL membrane achieving the highest conductivity of 4.181 × 10−4 Scm−1. The introduction of PEG and glycerol also contributed to enhanced conductivity and flexibility. The water uptake analysis revealed that IL-containing membranes exhibited superior hydration properties, with the highest water uptake recorded for the gelatin/0.2 g glycerol/0.2 g IL membrane, which was found to be very high (906.55%). The results showed that the combination of IL and PEG provided enhanced proton transport and mechanical stability (as examined visually), making these membranes promising candidates for fuel cell applications. Therefore, this study underscores the importance of bio-based materials by utilizing gelatin as a sustainable, biodegradable polymer, supporting the transition toward greener energy materials. The findings demonstrate that modifying gelatin with conductivity-enhancing and plasticizing agents can significantly improve its performance, paving the way for bio-based proton exchange membranes with improved efficiency and durability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells)
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