Dr Mohammed Ismail

School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering

Research Fellow

m.s.ismail@sheffield.ac.uk

Full contact details

Dr Mohammed Ismail
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Profile

Dr Mohammed Ismail is a senior researcher and Theme Manager of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies at the Translational Energy Research Centre at the University of Sheffield.  He is a chemical engineer by training. He is an expert in multiscale modelling, operation and integration of renewable and/or electrochemical energy units and systems. His PhD study, funded by the EPSRC and Shell UK, was on the characterisation and numerical modelling of the porous media used in the clean technology of the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell.

Equipped with strong expertise in multiscale modelling and experimental characterisation, he has been an instrumental member for various research projects which involve the use of renewable and/or electrochemical technologies such as fuel cells, solar collectors, batteries, electrolysers and photovoltaics. Dr Ismail has, as of June 2022, published more than 45 refereed journal articles, two patents and two book chapters in the past 10 years. 

Research interests

Mohammed’s main research focus is to boost the efficiency of the low temperature hydrogen fuel cells through proposing new designs and materials. In addition to that, his research interests cover the following areas:

  • Innovation and characterisation of cheap and high-performance catalysts and porous media for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and electrolysers

  • Multiscale multiphysics modelling of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

  • Multiscale multiphysics modelling of membrane distillation desalination modules

  • Dynamic modelling of desalination systems driven by renewable energy sources

  • Multiscale multiphysics modelling of molten carbonate fuel cells used as a concentrator of CO

Publications

Journal articles

Chapters

  • Behjani MA, Ismail MS, Ahmed W, Pourkashanian M & Hassanpour A (2021) Mathematical modeling of sustainable energy production using nanotechnology, Emerging Nanotechnologies for Renewable Energy (pp. 559-590). Elsevier RIS download Bibtex download
  • Ismail MS, Ingham DB & Pourkashanian M (2018) Modeling of portable fuel cells, Portable Hydrogen Energy Systems (pp. 51-66). Elsevier RIS download Bibtex download
  • Alonso-Vante N, Antonia Folgado M, Chaparro AM, Citalán-Cigarroa S, Conde JJ, Díaz-Bernabé JL, Ferreira-Aparicio P, Fernández-Sotillo AM, Galarza MA, Gautier G , Gkanas EI et al (2018) Contributors, Portable Hydrogen Energy Systems (pp. ix-x). Elsevier RIS download Bibtex download

Conference proceedings papers

  • Orogbemi O, Ingham DB, Ismail MS, Hughes K, Ma L & Pourkashanian M (2015) The effects of the composition of microporous layers on the permeability of gas diffusion layers. Proceedings of the 6th European Fuel Cell - Piero Lunghi Conference, EFC 2015 (pp 275-276) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Alhazmi N, Ismail MS, Ingham DB, Hughes KJ, Ma L & Pourkashanian M (2013) The through-plane thermal conductivity and the contact resistance of the components of the membrane electrode assembly in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. EFC 2013 - Proceedings of the 5th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference (pp 113-114) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Ismail MS, Borman D, Damjanovic T, Ingham DB & Pourkashanian M (2011) On the through-plane permeability of microporous layer-coated gas diffusion layers used in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 36(16) (pp 10392-10402) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Alhazmi N, Hughes K, Ingham D, Ismail M, Ma L & Pourkashanian M (2011) The effect of anisotropic GDL on the performance of PEM fuel cell. EFC 2011 - Proceedings of the 4th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference and Exhibition (pp 407-408) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Ismail M, Damjanovic T, Ingham D & Pourkashanian M (2009) Effect of MPL-coating on through-plane permeability of gas diffusion layers. EFC 2009 - Piero Lunghi Conference, Proceedings of the 3rd European Fuel Cell Technology and Applications Conference (pp 255-256) RIS download Bibtex download
  • Ismail M, Hughes K, Ingham D, Ma L, Pourkashanian M & Rosli M (2009) Through-Plane Permeability for Untreated and PTFE-Treated Gas Diffusion Layers in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. ASME 2009 7th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, 8 June 2009 - 10 June 2009. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Rosli MI, Pourkashanian M, Ingham DB, Ma L, Borman D & Ismail MS (2009) Transparent PEM Fuel Cells for Direct Visualisation Experiments. ASME 2009 7th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, 8 June 2009 - 10 June 2009. RIS download Bibtex download
  • Vural Y, Ma L, Ingham DB, Pourkashanian M & Ismail M (2009) On the multicomponent mass transport in an anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell. EFC 2009 - Piero Lunghi Conference, Proceedings of the 3rd European Fuel Cell Technology and Applications Conference (pp 185-186) RIS download Bibtex download
Grants
  • Fully-funded PhD studentship on production of green hydrogen using electrolysers, EPSRC, Oct 2022 – Sep 2026, ~ £150,000 including industrial support (£36,000) (PI)
  • Platinum-free catalysts and alternative electrolyte for hydrogen fuel cells, DAIWA Anglo-Japanese Foundation, Sep 2021 – Dec 2023, £12,000 (PI)
  • Fully-funded PhD studentship on carbon foam based catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells, EPSRC-DTP, Oct 2021 – Sep 2025, ~ £135,000 (Co-I)
  • Development of efficient fuel cells for hybrid vehicles, Ministry of Education (Saudi Arabia), Feb 2021 - Jan 2022, ~ £20,000 (PI) 
  • Development and evaluation of integrated systems for the provision of drinking water, electricity and fuel to rural communities, QR GCRF, Feb 2020 - Dec 2021, ~ £90,000 (Co-I)
  • Evaluation of different CCUS systems based on the MCFC technology for decarbonising the power generation sector, Dec 2020 – Nov 2021, UKCCSRC, ~ £30,000 (Co-I)
  • Fundamental Insights into Advanced Functional Carbon-based Materials as Fe-N-C Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Royal Society-JSPS International Exchange Grant, Apr 2018 - Aug 2020, ~ 40,000 (PI)  
  • A novel and highly efficient fuel cell system used to power small electronic devices. An EPSRC Proof of Concept project (via the funding of the University Knowledge Transfer Scheme), Jan 2013 – Dec 2013, £50,000, (Co-I) 

Patents

  • Novel Current Collectors for Air-breathing PEM Fuel Cells. Publication Number WO/2014/080174.
  • Novel Numerical Model for Air-breathing PEM Fuel Cells. Publication Number WO/2013/088122.v