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Hydrogen Energy Systems & PEM Fuel Cells

School of Energy

Hydrogen systems first, then a fuel cell you build yourself

RIA School of Energy treats hydrogen as an energy system and as hardware. The systems half explains why hydrogen is in the energy transition, how it is made, moved, stored and used, and where the safety and cost questions sit. The bench half is the cell: catalyst, membrane electrode assembly, electrolyser, then stack.

Systems modules follow the hydrogen topic in the Energy Institute Academy. Bench levels follow the Hydrogen Energy Institute. Enrolment is with RIA in Chennai — Purasawalkam and Saligramam — with lab pathways at JKV Research and Rasa.AI Labs.

Hydrogen-based energy systems

Context for engineers, energy managers and anyone moving into hydrogen. Then the bench levels below.

Module 1

Decarbonisation

Why hydrogen is in climate and energy policy, and what a partial hydrogen pathway does and does not solve.

Module 2

Hydrogen economy

Grid limits, renewable power, power-to-X, sector coupling, hydrogen clusters, and how a project reaches consent.

Module 3

Hydrogen market

Who makes and uses hydrogen today, the demand gap toward 2050, and what drives the levelised cost of hydrogen.

Module 4

Properties and safety

Gas, liquid and hydrogen derivatives next to familiar fuels, and the hazards that come with each form.

Module 5

Production

Colour labels, carbon intensity, electrolysis families and reforming routes.

Module 6

Consumption

Where hydrogen is used now, how that mix shifts, and the split between combustion and fuel cells.

Module 7

Infrastructure and logistics

Storage and transport from producer to user, including long distance and long duration.

Application briefings — transport, gas-grid use, and industrial heat and feedstock — are added on enquiry. They are not a substitute for the seven modules above.

Five bench levels

First look

Hydrogen Experience

Live fuel cell and electrolyser operation, plus a short hands-on turn before you commit to a build level.

Level I

PEM Fuel Cell

Slurry, coating, electrodes, MEA hot press, gasketing, single-cell assembly and a performance test.

Level II

PEM Electrolyser

Single-cell assembly, Pt/C MEA, data plots, water-displacement flow, efficiency and HER / OER.

Level III

Fuel cell + electrolyser

Level I and Level II in one visit. Both single-cell systems assembled and tested.

Level IV

Advanced stack

Stack demonstration and testing, MEA–CCM trials, GDL electrodes, DMFC and metal-hydride storage.

Extra

Further bench work

Metal-hydride storage, impedance, durability cycling, custom coating, and checks on plates, membranes and diffusion layers.

Levels side by side
LevelProgrammeScope
First lookHydrogen ExperienceLive fuel cell and electrolyser, with a turn on the controls
IPEM Fuel CellCatalyst ink through a tested single cell
IIPEM ElectrolyserElectrolyser cell, flow, efficiency and a bought membrane
IIIFuel cell + electrolyserBoth single-cell systems in one visit
IVAdvancedStack, coated membranes, methanol cell and metal-hydride storage

Level syllabus

Each level is a bench note: how long you are in, what you leave able to do, and the jobs on the table.

  • Hydrogen-based Energy Systems

    For engineers, energy managers and professionals moving into hydrogen, before or beside the bench levels. Outline aligned with the Energy Institute Academy hydrogen topic. Taught and certified by RIA School of Energy.

    • Decarbonisation: hydrogen’s place in net-zero policy, and the limits of a hydrogen-only story
    • Hydrogen economy: grid constraints, renewables, power-to-X, sector coupling, clusters, consent
    • Market: today’s producers and users, the gap to 2050, levelised cost of hydrogen
    • Properties and safety: gas, liquid and derivatives against familiar fuels, and the hazards of each
    • Production: colour labels, carbon intensity, electrolysis families, reforming
    • Consumption: current users, the shift from sector coupling, combustion versus fuel cells
    • Infrastructure and logistics: storage and transport, including long distance and long duration
    • On enquiry: transport, gas-grid use, industrial heat and feedstock

    Enquire about hydrogen energy systems

  • PEM Fuel Cell & Electrolyser — Hands-on Levels

    You mix ink, press a membrane and test the cell you bolted together. Talk time is short. The rest of the day is the station.

    LookBefore you build
    Hydrogen Experience

    Come in before a build week, or on its own. A live cell and a live electrolyser, and a turn on the controls instead of a slide deck.

    • Start, load and stop a PEM cell
    • Watch the electrolyser make gas
    • Read voltage, current and flow
    IFuel cell
    Make a PEM fuel cell

    From catalyst ink to a single cell that has been run on the test station.

    • Mix the catalyst ink
    • Coat and make the electrode
    • Hot-press the membrane sandwich
    • Size and fit the gasket
    • Bolt the single cell
    • Read the performance curve
    IIElectrolyser
    Run a PEM electrolyser

    This week is water-splitting only. The fuel-cell build stays in Level I. A day on an iridium catalyst can be added if you need it.

    • Assemble the electrolyser cell
    • Platinum-carbon membrane assembly
    • Plot the run
    • Measure gas with a water column
    • Work out efficiency
    • Repeat on a bought membrane
    • Hydrogen and oxygen evolution
    IIIBoth cells
    Both machines, one visit

    Level I and Level II on the same bench. You leave having assembled and tested a fuel cell and an electrolyser.

    • Fuel-cell build
    • Electrolyser build
    • Both cells tested before you go
    IVStack
    Stack week for labs and plants

    For engineers already in a job and for research scholars. Levels I and II first, then a short stack. The membrane is a perfluorinated film or the equivalent on the bench that week. A methanol cell runs only when the materials are in stock. Bring your own sample only after we agree the station can take it.

    • Plot and calculate a cell run
    • Assemble the mechanical hardware
    • Short stack on hydrogen
    • Stack measurements
    • Catalyst-coated membrane trials
    • Carbon paper as the electrode
    • Methanol cell, when stocked
    • Metal-hydride canister
    Extra
    • Metal-hydride storage
    • Rotating disk and impedance
    • Durability cycling
    • Custom coating and plating
    • Plates, membranes and diffusion layers

    We set the dates with your cohort, including holiday weeks. Call +91 98843 63200 or name the level in the enquiry.

    Enquire about a level

Common questions

  • Is this a lecture course or a bench course?

    Bench course. Most of the time is slurry, coating, hot pressing, assembly and test. Level I assumes no prior fuel-cell build experience.

  • Can faculty and research scholars take this?

    Yes. Levels I and II are the foundation. Level IV is the research and industry bench: stack testing, CCM trials and a metal-hydride storage demonstration. EIS, durability and custom catalyst coating are scoped separately. Drone and EV programmes still link here for students who want a mobility context after the cell build — see Drone Engineering and EV Engineering.

  • Where does RIA teach Fuel Cell / PEMFC Engineering?

    RIA School of Energy, Purasawalkam and Saligramam, Chennai, with hydrogen and fuel-cell lab pathways through JKV Research and Rasa.AI Labs. Dates are agreed with the cohort, including holiday batches. Call +91 98843 63200.

Skills you build

  • Catalyst slurry, coating and electrode fabrication
  • MEA hot pressing, gasketing and single-cell assembly
  • Polarization and electrolyser efficiency measurements
  • Stack assembly, stack testing and CCM trials
  • A tested cell you assembled, not a watched demonstration

Who this is for

  • Students and engineers who want a cell they built and tested
  • Faculty who will run fuel-cell or electrolyser experiments with their own scholars
  • Research scholars preparing a PEMFC, electrolyser or storage project
  • Industry technicians who need bench time, not another overview

Enquire about a fuel-cell level

Explore other School of Energy tracks

AI in Renewable Energy Systems
AI in Solar Energy
AI in Wind Energy
Drone Engineering (PEMFC UAV pathway)
Electric Vehicle Engineering (Hybrid Mobility Lab)
School of Energy hub

Ready to start this energy track?

Enquire with RIA for batch schedules, mentoring pathways and project support.

ENQUIRE NOW

Across every course

Seminars, workshops and faculty development

The same formats sit on any RIA subject. Name the course and the room — a faculty programme, a seminar, a workshop, an internship, or help with a project.

Faculty programme Seminar Workshop Internship Projects
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