Professor Bruno G. POLLET BSc (Hons) MSc PhD AHEA AFIChemE FRSC

• Board Committee Member of the International Academy of Electrochemical Energy Science (IAOEES)
• Board of Directors & Vice-President (RSA) of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE)
• Advisory Committee member of the Standardized Fuel Cell Network (SFCN)
• Co-founder and Board of Directors of the South African Hydrogen Association (SAHA)
• Director of the DST HySA Systems Competence Centre (RSA)
• Professor of Energy Materials and Systems, University of the Western Cape (RSA)
• SAIAMC Programme Director (RSA)
• Member of the RSA Department of Trade & Industry Electric Vehicle Industry Steering Committee
• Visiting Professor at the Fuel Cell Nanomaterials Centre, Yamanashi University (Japan)
• Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research Centre (UK)

Professor Pollet is currently working at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town as Professor of Energy Materials and Systems and Director of the DST Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Systems Competence Centre (an industry oriented and led RD&D Centre with a strong emphasis on demonstrator/prototype development and energy materials manufacturing).  Professor Pollet is known in the field (both in academia and industry) to be a dynamic, energetic, enthusiastic, positive and visionary individual with expertise and experience in the research fields of Hydrogen Energy, PEMFC, Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis and Electrochemical Engineering. 

He has excellent business development, networking, leadership and communication skills.  He was formerly a co-founder and an Associate Director of the Birmingham Centre for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research, and Operations and Delivery Director of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Doctoral Training Centre in Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their Applications led by Professor Kevin Kendall FRS in the UK.  He was responsible for the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Carbon Abatement Technologies Demonstration Programme (HFCCAT) Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle project and PEMFC, MEA and Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis activities at the University of Birmingham.  He successfully implemented a Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Supply Chain (AWM & EPSRC projects) within the Western Central England with over 60 SMEs involved in the development and manufacturing of hydrogen and fuel cell components.  He also developed and implemented the first Masters and PhD with Integrated Studies in ‘’Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their applications’’ programmes in the UK. 

He has worked for Samuel Banner Ltd (Banner Chemicals Group) and Albion Chemicals Ltd (now Brenntag (UK) Ltd) in Sales and Marketing, Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Ltd (Johnson Matthey Plc) as Test Facility Scientist, Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) Design Scientist and Programme Leader, SmartWater Europe Ltd as Research Manager and Coventry University as Head of Sonoelectrochemistry, Project Development Manager and Lecturer in Environmental & Physical Sciences.  Professor Pollet also worked at the University of Liverpool Electrochemistry Group headed by Professor David J. Schiffrin as an EPSRC and EU Research Fellow in the field of Electroanalytical Chemistry and Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis.  He was awarded a Diploma in Chemistry and Material Sciences from the Université Joseph Fourier (Grenoble, France), a BSc (Hons) in Applied Chemistry from Coventry University and an MSc in Analytical Chemistry from The University of Aberdeen.  He also gained his PhD in Physical Chemistry in the field of Electrochemistry and Sonochemistry (Sonoelectrochemistry) under the supervision of Professors J. Phil Lorimer & T.J. Mason at Coventry University. 

Professor Pollet has published many scientific publications, articles and book chapters (inc. one book) in the field of Fuel Cells, Electrocatalysis and Electrochemical Engineering.  Professor Pollet is member of: the SAHA, IAHE, ECS, ISE, RSC, IChemE, SAIChE, SCI and member of editorial board journals (the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy/Electrocatalysis/Journal of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells/Journal of Nano Energy and Power Research/Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy/Journal of Fuels).  He is also fluent in French and Spanish.

Publications

[1] Bruno G. Pollet, Iain Staffell, Jin Lei Shang, Current Status of Hybrid, Battery and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles: from Electrochemistry to Market Prospects, Special Issue of Electrochimica Acta - International Year of Chemistry 2011 'Electrochemical Science and Technology - State of the Art and Future Perspectives', accepted April 2012.
[2] Surbhi Sharma, Bruno G. Pollet, Support Materials for PEMFC and DMFC Electrocatalysts - A Review, J. Power Sources, Volume 208, 96-119 (2012).
[3] Paul Jennings, Roy J. Johnston, Bruno G. Pollet, Theoretical Studies of Pt-Ti Nanoparticles for Potential Use as PEMFC Electrocatalyst, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., DOI:10.1039/C2CP23430K
[4] J.E. Newton, J. A. Preece, B.G. Pollet, Control Of Nanoparticle Aggregation in PEMFCs Using Surfactants, International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, 4 (2012)
[5] B.G. Pollet, J. E. Newton, J. A. Preece, O. J. Curnick, The Use of Ionic and Non-Ionic Surfactants for the Control of Platinum Nanoparticle Aggregation in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), Electrochem. Soc. Trans., 41 (1), 2165-2173 (2011)
[6] Benjamin Millington, Vincent Whipple and Bruno G. Pollet, A Novel Method for Preparing PEMFC Electrodes by the Ultrasonic-Spray Technique, J. Power Sources, 196(20), 2011, 8500.
[7] Bruno G. Pollet, Emmanuel F. Valzer and Oliver J. Curnick, Platinum Sonoelectrodeposition (20 kHz) on Glassy Carbon (GC) and Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) Electrodes, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 36(10), 2011, 6248.
[8] Shangfeng Du, Ben Millington, Bruno G. Pollet, The Effect of Nafion® Ionomer Loading Coated on Gas Diffusion Electrodes with In-situ Grown Pt Nanowires and Their Durability in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 36(7), 2011, 4386.
[9] K. Kendall, B.G. Pollet, A. Dhir, I. Staffell, B. Millington, J. Jostins, Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles for Birmingham Campus, J. Power Sources, 196(1), 2011, 325.
[10] Ben Millington, Shangfeng Du, Bruno G. Pollet, The Effect of Materials on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Electrode Performance, J. Power Sources, 196(21), 2011, 9013.