Hydrogen fuel cell digital twins challenges from a modeling perspective
--Technical Webinar Series by IEEE Benelux Transportation Electrification Council Chapter--
Topic: Hydrogen fuel cell digital twins challenges from a modeling perspective
Speaker: Prof. Fei Gao, IEEE Fellow, UTBM, France
Bio: Prof. Fei Gao serves as the Executive Director of Research, Doctoral Studies, and Innovation at the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard (UTBM) and is also a Full Professor at the School of Energy and Computer Science at UTBM, France. He earned his PhD in Renewable Energy from UTBM in 2010, receiving the Distinguished Youth Doctor Award. Prof. Gao specializes in hydrogen fuel cells for transportation and digital twin technology in modern power electronics and energy systems. He is a Fellow of both IEEE and IET. His academic contributions include authoring or co-authoring 3 books, 4 book chapters, and over 200 technical publications, with over 130 published in international journals. He received the 2020 IEEE J. David Irwin Early Career Award from the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, the 2022 Leon-Nicolas Brillouin Award from SEE France, and the 2022 Sustainable Future Visionary Award from Typhoon HIL company. In 2021, Prof. Gao was appointed a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Industrial Electronics Technology News, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, and holds leadership roles in various IEEE societies, including Chair of the Award Committee and of the Constitution & Bylaws Committee of the IEEE Transportation Electrification Council, Vice-Chair of the Technical Committee on Electrified Transportation Systems of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, and Vice-Chair of the Industrial Automation and Control Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society.
SUMMARY: Digital Twin (DT) technology has emerged as a powerful paradigm to bridge the gap between physical systems and their virtual counterparts by enabling real-time monitoring, prediction, and optimization based on high-fidelity simulations and real-world data. In the context of hydrogen energy systems, particularly Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), DTs offer promising capabilities to improve performance, enhance reliability, and reduce development costs. However, the development of robust and efficient digital twins for fuel cells remains a complex and multidisciplinary challenge.
This presentation provides an overview of the key modeling challenges involved in creating effective digital twins for hydrogen fuel cells. The highly coupled multi-physics nature of PEMFCs, encompassing electrochemical reactions, heat and mass transfer, fluid dynamics, and material degradation, requires multi-domain and multi-scale modeling approaches. These models should be capable of capturing both the rapid dynamics of system operation and the slower processes associated with long-term degradation, all while respecting the computational constraints of real-time execution.
The presentation concludes with a reflection on future directions for the field, highlighting the need for continued innovation in modeling approaches, numerical methods, and system integration. Advancing these areas will be essential to fully realize the potential of digital twins as a critical tool in the development of next-generation hydrogen energy systems.
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- Mekelweg 4
- Delft, Zuid-Holland
- Netherlands 2628 CD
- Building: Building No. 36
- Room Number: Timmanzaal LB01.170
- Starts 27 January 2026 11:00 PM UTC
- Ends 16 February 2026 11:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge