Meet our Team

IAHE Clean Hydrogen Division President

Bruno G. Pollet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Georges_Pollet

He has been working in the Hydrogen Energy sector for over 20 years in the UK, Japan, South Africa, Norway, and now Canada.
Strong industrial and academic background.
Member of the Council of Engineers Transition for the Energy Transition (CEET): An Independent Advisory Council of the United Nations’ Secretary-General.
Leader of the CEET Hydrogen Task Force.
President of the Clean Hydrogen Division of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE).
Member of the Board of Directors of the IAHE.
Member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (CHFCA).
Member of the Board of Directors of Hydrogène Québec.
Holder of two research Chairs in Clean Hydrogen Production with a strong focus on the next generation of water electrolysers.
Director of the UQTR Clean Hydrogen Labs.
Co-director of the UQTR Institute for Hydrogen Research.

IAHE Clean Hydrogen Ambassadors

Mikaa Mered

Mikaa Mered is a French policy analyst, award-winning author and public speaker specialized in the geopolitics and geoeconomics of climate change, with more than 10 years researching hydrogen and Polar affairs. His research focuses on the emerging geopolitics of hydrogen, at the intersection of space, place, trade flows and neo-institutionalist theory.
He is a lecturer and secretary general of the Chair on Overseas Territories at Sciences Po, and adjunct lecturer on hydrogen markets and geopolitics at HEC Paris. He also lectures on climate change and energy transition geopolitics at the French War College (École de guerre) where he supervises the Environment & Security committee, as well as at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University’s Public Policy school (UM6P, Morocco).
He is a member of the steering committee of the French Hydrogen Task Force (created by MEDEF International and France Hydrogène), member of the Hydrogen Business for Climate Forum’s experts committee, of the World Hydrogen Leaders network, and sits on the board of the SEFACIL Foundation for applied research on ports and maritime logistics.
Recipient of two literary awards for his work on Arctic and Antarctic geopolitics, he has contributed as scientific advisor to several internationally distributed documentaries and regularly appears on major national and international media outlets.

Pasquale Cavaliere

Pasquale Cavaliere is a Professor of Metallurgy in the Department of Innovation Engineering at the University of Salento.
He is also a Marie Curie Fellow and serves as the Deputy Editor of Ironmaking and Steelmaking.
With over 200 papers published in international journals, his extensive research can be explored on his Scopus profile.
Additionally, he is the author of the books Water Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production and Hydrogen Assisted Direct Reduction of Iron Oxides.

Andrew Emil Khalil

Previously a leader at Cummins Hydrogenics, he played a central role in stabilizing and accelerating deployment of Europe’s most challenging early hydrogen infrastructure projects, for example those flagship first of its kind projects with Maximator Hydrogen and ZEPAK.
As Chief Commercial Officer at a thermal storage startup, he led the commercialization of long-duration thermal storage technology, helping the company secure flagship projects and strategic co-development projects.
Earlier in his career at ILF Consulting Engineers, he supported infrastructure developments across the EU and MENA.
He is a member and advisor at Green Energy Center Austria.
He is also an advisor to project Hydromex a privately funded platform for hydrogen trading.
He has worked across the global energy, gases, renewable and energy infrastructure sector for over 17 years, with a focus on commercializing frontier technologies in hydrogen, power grids, and long-duration energy storage across Europe, North America and the Middle East.

Muhammad AbuLaban

Muhammad AbuLaban, MBA (2011), B.Eng. (2009) is an ambassador of the clean hydrogen division at International Association for Hydrogen Energy, his email contact: MuhammadAbuLaban@IAHE.org
He is an assistant to the executive vice president at International Association for Hydrogen Energy.
He is the director of Arab Engineering Eagles, the executive hydrogen and energy consultancy .
He works for SIEMENS Partner as an estimation officer for energy projects.

IAHE Clean Hydrogen Volunteers

Md Hujjatul Islam

Dr. Md Hujjatul Islam is a green hydrogen enthusiastic. Currently, he is working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry in University of Toronto. His current research focus on developing advanced alkaline stable low cost electrocatalyst for AEM electrolyser.
His research expertise and interest lie in the area of Hydrogen Economy, Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) and Bioenergy. He uses electrochemical, sonochemical and sonoelectrochemical methods for developing innovative processes in hydrogen production, CCU, and bioenergy. He is the co-inventor of the Islam-Pollet-Hihn process where he developed the room temperature and pressure Sabatier reaction in the absence of catalyst using power ultrasound only.
Dr. Islam has finished his PhD in April 2021 under supervision of Prof. Bruno Pollet from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway. Besides this, he has two MSc degrees in Chemical and Process Engineering (LUT University, 2017) and Textile Engineering (Politecnico Di Torino, 2014) and a BSc degree in Textile Engineering (Politecnico di Torino, 2012).

Matteo Genovese

Matteo Genovese is an energy engineering and post-doc researcher with a Ph.D. in Civil and Industrial Engineering from the University of Calabria. His activities focus on research and development of advanced energy systems and sustainable mobility systems, mainly based on hydrogen technology and hydrogen refueling stations. He concluded an Innovative Ph.D. with Industrial Characterization, about the integration of a hydrogen refueling station in a renewable energy system via numerical modeling, experimental activities, and performance analyses, to enhance the results of university research and transfer them as “best practice” to the industrial partners of the Ph.D.
He has worked on several research projects related to hydrogen production and related-energy systems, fuel cells and energy sustainability. He has conducted research through various foreign collaborations, with prolonged stays in California, at the Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility, in Los Angeles, and national collaborations, in particular in Naples, at the ATENA Scarl Consortium, with institutions such as ENEA. In addition to his research work, he has also taught courses on innovative hydrogen-based systems for the energy transition (MD in Energy Engineering) and fundamentals of fluid dynamics (BD in Mechanical Engineering) at the University of Calabria.
Winner of several regional and national awards for Innovative Startups, he holds a BD in Mechanical Engineering, an MD in Energy Engineering, an executive master’s in project management, an advanced training course in Industrial Engineering, and a Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Development in Hydrogen Safety.
Matteo has published several scientific articles in international journals and contributed to various conferences and reports related to his research areas, and he is the holder of four patent applications. In the Scopus Database, under the search for documents related to both experimental and modeling activities on hydrogen refueling stations, Matteo Genovese is ranked among the top five most active researchers in the world. He is a reviewer of multiple international scientific journals, expert peer reviewer for the U.S. Department of Energy (Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, member of several scientific advisory boards, and guest editor.

Hariprasad Ranganathan

Hariprasad is a young academic researcher who is passionate about the applications of energy storage and conversion devices for decarbonizing public sectors.
As an awardee of the UNESCO chair MATECSS scholarship, Hariprasad is pursuing his Ph.D. at Institut national de la recherche scientfique (INRS). More specifically, his doctoral research is aimed at the development of low-cost and durable materials for the application of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Currently, he is more interested in the preparation of non-precious metal catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in PEMFCs.
Previously, he completed his master’s degree at the Jeonbuk National University where he focused on the preparation and testing of composite proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for PEMFC applications.

Amina Lahrichi

Amina is an ambitious Ph.D. student in the Energy and Materials Sciences program at the University of Québec à Trois-Rivières, working under the expert supervision of Professor Bruno G. Pollet. As a beginner in clean hydrogen production, Amina is dedicated to utilizing her knowledge and skills to support the Clean Hydrogen Division’s mission of developing environmentally sustainable energy solutions.
Amina embarked on her academic journey in Morocco, where she earned her University Diploma of Technology (DUT) in Chemical Engineering at the École Supérieure de Technologie of Fez in 2016. She pursued further education at the Faculté des Sciences Dhar El Mahraz of Fez, obtaining her professional bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2017, and completed her master’s degree in Materials and Chemical Engineering at the Faculté des Sciences et Techniques of Fez in 2019.
Amina’s research is centered around the development of innovative electrocatalysts for hydrogen production through water splitting. She has already made a mark in the field as the author and co-author of a small number of peer-reviewed articles in energy storage. Amina’s dedication to her field is further demonstrated by the various scholarships and awards she has received, as well as her involvement in organizing numerous scientific symposiums.

Youness El Issmaeli

Youness is a devoted Ph.D. student in the Energy and Materials Sciences program at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, studying under the supervision of renowned Professor Bruno G. Pollet. As a novice in the field of clean hydrogen production, Youness is dedicated to utilizing his knowledge and abilities to support the Clean Hydrogen Division’s goal of creating eco-friendly energy solutions.
Youness embarked on his academic path in Morocco, where he obtained his University Diploma of Technology (DUT) in Chemical Engineering at the École Supérieure de Technologie of Fez in 2016. He pursued further education at the Faculté des Sciences Dhar El Mahraz of Fez, earning his professional bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 2017, and accomplished his master’s degree in Materials and Chemical Engineering at the Faculté des Sciences et Techniques of Fez in 2019.
With a focus on developing cutting-edge electrocatalysts for hydrogen production through water splitting, Youness has made significant initial contributions as the author and co-author of a few peer reviewed articles on energy storage. Additionally, Youness has received several awards and scholarships and has organized numerous scientific symposiums, showcasing his commitment to the field.

Gideon Onwukanjo

Gideon is a Physics graduate from the University of Calabar in Nigeria, who has a keen interest in utilizing data to make informed decisions. With his experience as a project assistant in health-based projects for El’ Prima global enterprise, Gideon has developed a strong foundation in using data to drive critical decisions.
Currently pursuing an M.Sc. in Economics, Policies, Infrastructure, and Green Hydrogen Technology at the Université Cheick Anta Diop de Dakar in Senegal, Gideon is working on a research project focused on Implementation risk assessment and management applicable to the production of hydrogen and methanol using the direct air capture technology.
Gideon’s enthusiasm for energy systems is evident, as he has already worked on a 100% renewable pathway model for the power sector in Nigeria.

Furat Dawood

Furat Dawood has a PhD in Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, and a lecturer at Murdoch University in Western Australia.
He is a Global SME Hydrogen, Renewable Energy Expert and Net Zero Emission Consultant.
He is the founder of the Hydrogen Economy Group (H2E Group), and a Technical Advisor for the Hydrogen Society of Australia.
He is a member of many energy societies, NGOs, and research groups.
He engages in Hydrogen projects in Australia and Globally.

Ziba Rajan

- Ziba Rajan is from Kenya and currently holds the position of Senior Scientific Officer at the South African National Centre of Competence, HySA/Catalysis, hosted at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In this role, Ziba contributes to projects which develop catalysts and catalyst coated membranes for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis applications.
- She is also a doctoral candidate where her project is focussed on developing a fundamental understanding towards electronic metal-support interactions in oxide-supported iridium-based catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction, supervised by Dr. Rhiyaad Mohamed and Dr. Tobias Binninger. In the framework of her Ph.D., she has had the opportunity to develop her skills and research expertise towards nanoelectronics device characterisation, as well as ultraviolet and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in addition to ex-situ and in-situ electrolyser measurement techniques.
- Ziba is the co-founder and president of the Electrochemical Society student chapter at the University of Cape Town, and she is passionate about science communication, and empowering young people into pursuing careers of scientific excellence.

Kaarel Kisand

- Kaarel believes in hydrogen as a clean and versatile energy carrier, he is determined to make a positive impact on our energy landscape by advocating for hydrogen technologies in sectors like transportation, industry, and power generation.
- He obtained his MSc in chemistry from the University of Tartu. Currently, he is a PhD student at the Department of Chemistry in the University of Tartu under the supervision of Prof. Kaido Tammeveski. His research focus is mainly on developing fuel cell catalysts from abundant raw materials and the application of these catalysts as electrodes in single cells for low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. He has over four years of experience in electrochemistry research with a record of 5 publications in highly regarded international journals.

Nachtane Mourad

- Dr. Nachtane Mourad is the Team Leader for Hydrogen Storage in Clean Hydrogen Division at the International Association of Hydrogen Energy.
- Dr. Nachtane Mourad (Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, ENSTA Bretagne, 2019) is a researcher and engineer with a distinguished career in composite materials and hydrogen storage. He began his journey in academia, serving as a Temporary Teaching and Research Assistant (ATER) at the University of Bordeaux and the Institute of Mechanics and Engineering (I2M) in France from 2019 to 2020. In December 2020, he embarked on a unique dual role at ENSAM Campus Metz. There, he leverages his expertise as both an Associate Professor at the LEM3 Research Lab, conducting fundamental research on composites, and an R&D Engineer at CETIM Grand Est, a renowned French research organization. In this capacity, he fosters collaboration between ENSAM and CETIM, leading projects focused on optimizing the behavior of recycled thermoplastic composites based on their process-induced microstructures.
- Further expanding his impact, Dr. Nachtane assumed the role of R&D Manager at S VERTICAL Company in September 2022. Here, he spearheads the advancement of WoundSim software capabilities, particularly in modeling composite materials for the next generation of hydrogen storage vessels. Since March 2024, he has also contributed valuable expertise as an Assistant professor at UM6P..
- Dr. Nachtane’s dedication to the field is further evidenced by his impressive research contributions. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed articles and presented his findings at more than 12 international conferences. Additionally, his keen eye for quality is recognized by over 20 international scientific journals, including Composite Structures and Renewable Energy, where he serves as a reviewer. Through his research, Dr. Nachtane has significantly advanced the scientific understanding of using composite materials across diverse sectors. His accomplishments extend beyond research.
- Dr. Nachtane has received numerous prestigious awards, including the IAAM Young Scientist Medal 2022 for his contributions to “Advancement of Materials to Global Excellence.” He is also the recipient of the Peer Prize for Climate, the French Navy Award, the University Research Competition and Innovation Prize, the Innovation in Science and Technology of the Francophonie Award, and the Future Projects 2018 Award. Furthermore, he has served as the scientific coordinator for the European project D3T4H2S and actively participated in various academic and industrial projects. Notably, he has guided the academic journeys of three PhD students and six Master’s students in the fields of renewable energy and mechanics of materials.

Maxime Pinchart-Deny

- Maxime is a graduate from Warwick Business School in England, holding a B.Sc. degree. With a master’s in business administration from EDHEC in France and a master’s in international Logistics from HEC Montreal, he has developed a robust academic foundation.
- His master’s thesis focused on decentralized renewable energy production systems in Canada, including the modeling of production and consumption systems based on information provided by industry partners. This research encompassed the analysis of hydrogen use for local consumption in farming activities. Currently, Maxime is working on renewable projects implemented in agricultural and forestry environments, further honing his expertise in the field.
- Specializing in techno-economic studies of hydrogen production and usage, Maxime is currently working on Canadian hydrogen feasibility and implementation strategy studies.

Courtney Quinn

Courtney is a chemistry PhD student with the Sustainable Hydrogen CDT based at the University of Nottingham (UK). Courtney is working on green hydrogen production and with a particular focus on sustainable catalysts for hydrogen evolution. Despite now studying a PhD in chemistry Courtney first studied chemical engineering at Queen’s University Belfast before becoming interested in hydrogen production and making the move towards electrochemistry.

Wilson Ekpotu

Wilson is a graduate of petroleum engineering and a young professional member of the Energy Council of Canada. In line with his current career interests, he is a prospective graduate of Energy Systems Engineering here in Canada and has developed hands-on experience and exposure to the recent trends and developments in the hydrogen sector. He is passionate about Clean Hydrogen Production as a sustainable tool for global energy transition and is certified by Standford University in Conventional and Unconventional Reservoir Geomechanics and this served as a springboard for his excellent industry experience in the energy sector.
He has published and presented several academic papers in international academic journals and conferences, and most recently he presented a technical paper that was focused on Carbon Capture Processes in Natural gas plants at the SPE Canadian Energy Technology Conference and Exhibition, Calgary, 2022.
Professionally, he is also a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the International Association of Engineers (IAEng) among other professional bodies. As an international technical paper peer-reviewer with the Petroleum Science and Technology Journal.

Martins Obialor

Martins is a sustainable energy enthusiast who is passionate about green hydrogen and its role in the global energy transition. He is a graduate student at Kunsan National University, and his interest lies in the development of high-performing electrochemical devices.
His current research focuses on the design and development of safe, high-performance electrolytes for water electrolysis and in battery development, which would play an active role in enhancing the performance and safety of the current electrochemical devices.
In tandem with his interests, he has co-authored research papers and, most recently, a paper on carbon capture process in natural gas plants. With his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Uyo, he is part of a growing research sub-group on clean hydrogen production and deployment, which further reiterates his passion for adding value and sustainable solutions in the energy sector.

Abir Hassan Bhuiyan

- Abir is a postgraduate student at University of Southern California, he has the ambition to pursue his PhD. Abir is a passionate individual to utilize his knowledge toward energy sustainability.
- His research interests are Energy transition, Energy decarbonization, and clean hydrogen production. He worked on various research projects and co-authored some research papers. Recently, he received the Best Presenter Award at an International conference for one of his papers on hydrogen production from wind energy.
- Abir’s engagement in planning multiple scientific symposiums and the numerous scholarships and honors he has received are other examples of his commitment to his subject. Professionally, Abir is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and discharged the duty as a Membership Chairperson in SPE Student Chapter at MIST.

Niloufar Azizi

- Niloufar Azizi is a Walsh Scholar Ph.D. student at University College Dublin, specializing in ammonia recovery from manure.
- Her profound interest in clean ammonia has motivated her to delve into the study of hydrogen as fuel.
- With a strong desire to contribute to and advance research in this field, she is determined to pursue a fulfilling career focused on sustainable energy solutions.