profile | CSIR Madras Complex - Goverment of India

Dr. HARSHAL AGARWAL

Principal Scientist

CECRI

harshalagarwal.cecri@csir.res.in
044-2254 4682

Academic Background
Professional Background
Areas of Scientific Interest
Awards & Honours
Publications
Patents, Technology Transfer etc

Academic Background

Degree	Subject	CGPA	Year	University
B. Tech	Automobile Engineering	9.60	2012	SRM University, Kattankulathur, Chennai
M.Tech	Renewable Energy	8.8	2014	Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
Ph.D.	Engineering Sciences (Chemical Engineering)	9.0	2020	Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India

Professional Background

S. No	Position Held	Place of Employment	To	From
1	Principal Scientist	CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Chennai, India	April 2024	Present
2	Guest Scientist	Fraunhofer ICT, Germany	Nov 2023	October 2024
3	Senior Scientist	CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Chennai, India	April 2021	March 2024
4	Scientist	CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Chennai, India	April 2017	March 2021
5	Prime Minister Research Fellow	CSIR - Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Chennai, India	April 2016	March 2017
6	Trainee Scientist	CSIR-SERC, India	Sep 2012	March 2016

Areas of Scientific Interest

Applied Electrochemistry
Hydrogen Energy
Fuel Cell and System Engineering
Process Engineering, 3D Design and Modelling
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Applied Chemical Engineering

Awards & Honours

Selected as INAE Young Associate Fellow in 2025 by The Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE)
Recipient of prestigious INAE Young Engineer Award 2025
Prestigious Indo-German Science and Technology Center (IGSTC) PDIF 2023 Fellowship for Postdoctoral research at Fraunhofer ICT, Germany (2023 - 2024)
Prestigious Prime Minister Fellowship for Doctoral research awarded by SERB in collaboration with CII (2016 - 2017)
Best paper award in International Conference on Power and Energy Engineering, 2014 on paper entitled “Wick based in situ humidification in PEMFC: A comparative study”
Gold Medal for securing the First Rank in B. Tech, Department of Automobile Engineering in 2012
Performance based University Merit Scholarship for the academic years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11

Publications

Journal Papers
Jefin F., Chaithra R, LM Shahid, A Sethi, Harshal Agarwal, S. Thawarkar, Vishal M Dhavale, Unveiling Halide Perovskites: An Emerging Electrocatalyst for Oxygen and Hydrogen Electrocatalysis, Adv. Sustain. Systems, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202500713
Baskaran Mohan Dass, Ramya Padmanaban, Aparna Mahalingam, Neeshma Maniprakundil, Harshal Agarwal, Sreekuttan M. Unni, Vishal M. Dhavale and Santoshkumar D. Bhat*, Short-side-chain composite membranes with polyaminobenzene sulfonic acid-enriched single-walled carbon nanotubes for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. RSC Appl. Polym., 2025. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00172B
Felix Dittmar, Harshal Agarwal, Jens Tübke, Prognostics and health management (PHM) of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers: A review-based guideline, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 106 (2025) 806-824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.01.443
S. Thapa, Harshal Agarwal, V. Ganesh, A.K. Sahu, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis and thermal mapping of different cross-sectional cathode channels in open-cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack, J Power Sources 613 (2024) 234967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.234967
S. Thapa, V. Ganesh, Harshal Agarwal, A.K. Sahu, “Performance evaluation of cathode channels with different cross-sections for open-cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack”, J Power Sources 603 (2024) 234398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.234398
Harshal Agarwal*, A. U. Thosar, S.D. Bhat, A. K. Lele, “Interdigitated flow field impact on mass transport and electrochemical reaction in high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell”, J Power Sources 532 (2022), 231319.
Harshal Agarwal*, Ramendra Pandey, S.D. Bhat, “Improved polymer electrolyte fuel cell performance with membrane electrode assemblies using modified metallic plate: Comparative study on impact of various coatings”, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 45, Issue 37, 24 July 2020, Pages 18731-18742, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.05.243
A. U. Thosar, Harshal Agarwal, Govarthan S. and A. K. Lele, “Comprehensive analytical model for polarization curve of a PEM fuel cell and experimental validation”, Chemical Engineering Science, Volume 206, 12 October 2019, Pages 96-117; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2019.05.022
Harshal Agarwal, Vishnu R. Unni, K.T. Akhil, N.T. Ravi, S. Md. Iqbal, R.I. Sujith, Bala Pesala, “Compact standing wave thermoacoustic generator for power conversion applications”, Applied Acoustics, Volume 110, September 2016, Pages 110-118; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2016.03.028
Ramendra Pandey, Harshal Agarwal, B. Saravanan, P. Sridhar, and Santoshkumar D. Bhat, “Internal Humidification in PEM Fuel Cells Using Wick Based Water Transport”, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Volume 162, 2015, Number 9; https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0621509jes
Conference Papers
S. Thapa, H. Agarwal, V. Ganesh, A.K. Sahu, Graphite based Flow Plates with different Cross-Sections Cathode Channels Designs for Open Cathode Fuel Cell Stack, National Workshop on Advanced Carbon Materials for Next Generation Energy Solutions (NWCM-February 20-21, 2025), CSIR-IIP, Dehradun.
S. Thapa, H. Agarwal, A.K. Sahu, EIS Analysis and Optimization Using AI for Different Cathode Channel Cross-Sections for Open Cathode Fuel Cell Stack, PRiME 2024 (October 06-11, 2024), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
S. Thapa, H. Agarwal, A.K. Sahu, Design and Analysis of Different Cathode Channel Cross-Sections for Open Cathode Fuel Cell Stack, 245th ECS Meeting (May 26-30,2024), San Francisco, CA, USA. (Digital presentation)
S. Thapa, H. Agarwal, A.K. Sahu, 3D, Two-Phase Multispecies Transport Model of PEM Fuel Cells (PEMFC), COMSOL Conference (November 30-December 1, 2023), Bengaluru.
S. Thapa, H. Agarwal, A.K. Sahu, Gaining Insights into Open Cathode PEMFC by Investigating Key Operating Parameters, in Proceedings of the National Symposium on Electrochemical Science and Technology (NSEST – August 17- 18, 2023), ARCI, Hyderabad.
S. Thapa, H. Agarwal, V. Ganesh, A.K. Sahu, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell and Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence, National Convention of Electrochemists (NCE), Coimbatore (August 26-27, 2022), PSG college of Technology, Coimbatore.
Ramendra Pandey, Harshal Agarwal, P. Sridhar, and Santoshkumar D. Bhat, “Wick based in-situ humidification in PEMFCs: A comparative study”.2014 1st International Congress on Computer, Electronics, Electrical, and Communication Engineering (ICCEECE2014), IPCSIT vol. 59 (2014), IACSIT Press, Singapore, DOI: 10.7763/IPCSIT.2014.V59.35

Patents, Technology Transfer etc

Santoshkumar D Bhat, Vishal M Dhavale, Sreekuttan M Unni, Harshal Agarwal, Short-Side Chain Composite Membrane with Polyaminobenzene sulfonic Acid-enriched Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells, Indian patent application number (2025): 0050NF2025
A.K. Sahu, Harshal Agarwal, S. Thapa, An improved cathode flow-field structure for open cathode polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack (OC-PEMFC), Indian patent application number (2023): 0248NF2023
Harshal Agarwal, Ramendra Pandey, Ram Kumar, P. Sridhar, and Santoshkumar D. Bhat, “Internal Humidification in Low Temperature PEM Fuel Cell by Means of a Wick”, European Patent: EP3164902B

Technology/Process Development:

Sl. No	Title	Year
1	1 kWe Open Cathode LT-PEMFC stack [Technology]	2019 - 2020
2	Automotive grade LT-PEMFC stack [Technology]	2016 - 2020
3	5 kWe HT-PEMFC system [Technology]	2016 - 2020
4	Indigenous catalyst for fuel cell – Pt/C [Knowhow / Process]	2022 – 2025
5	Next generation MEA for LT-PEMFC [Knowhow / Process]	2022 – 2025

Technology Transfer:

Sl. No

Title

Period during which developed

Date of transfer

Organization/

Industry

LT-PEMFC System for Automotive Application

2016 - 2021

10^th April 2022

KPIT, Pune

Projects Implementation:

Sl. No	Title of the Project	Year	*Role and Funding Agency*
1.	Development of Fuel cell powered high endurance UAV for niche strategic and societal applications	2025 - 2028	Project Investigator & MNRE, GOI
2.	Development of 5 kW PEMFC stack with volumetric power density of > 3.0 kW/L	2025 - 2028	Project Co-Investigator & CSIR H2T Mission, GOI
3	Development of Cutting-edge Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Electrolyser Stack of 50 kW	2025 - 2028	Team Member & CSIR H2T Mission, GOI
4.	Fuel Cell E-tractor: Development of Drive Train	2024 – 2026	Project Investigator & CSIR, GOI
5.	Scale-up of short side chain PFSA composite membrane for low humidity polymer electrolyte fuel cells	2024 – 2026	Project Co-Investigator & CSIR, GOI
6.	Development of polymer electrolyte membrane based air-cooled fuel cells for hydrogen mitigation during cold trap regeneration	2024 - 2027	Project Co-Investigator & BRNS, DAE, GOI
7.	Indigenization of the HT-PEMFC Technology at the Raw Materials and Sub-Component Level by Establishing Pre-Production Scale Manufacturing Facilities	2023 – 2026	Project Co-Investigator & DST AHFC, GOI
8.	Redox Flow Batteries – Phase 1	2023 - 2026	Team Member & CSIR- Fast Track Mission Mode Program, GOI
9.	Development of fuel cell system for application in Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) – Feasibility Study	2025	Project Investigator & Larsen and Toubro, Mumbai
10.	Heat and Energy Balance Study for 2.4 kW Air Cooled Stack via Modelling	2024 – 2025	Project Investigator & High Energy Battery Pvt. Ltd.
11.	Next Generation Low Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel cell – Technology Development	2022 – 2025	Project Investigator & CSIR - Hydrogen Mission, GOI
12.	Development of PEMFC Components	2022 – 2025	Project Co-Investigator & CSIR - Hydrogen Mission, GOI
13.	PEM Electrolyser for hydrogen generation	2022 – 2025	Team member & CSIR - Hydrogen Mission, GOI
14.	Testing of LT-PEMFC MEAs – 1^st and 2^nd Phase	2022 – 2022	Project Investigator & DRE Motors, Hyderabad
15.	Development and validation of 1 kWe open cathode LT-PEMFC stack	2019 – 2020	Project Investigator & Reliance Industries Ltd, Mumbai
16.	Demonstration and validation of hydrogen ecosystem for stationary power backup application for telecommunication towers	2019 – 2022	Co-Project Investigator & DST, GOI
17.	Demonstration and validation of a LT-PEMFC system for automotive application	2016 – 2020	Technical team lead and local project manager & CSIR NMITLI with IOP-KPIT, Pune
18.	Demonstration and validation of a 5 kW HT-PEMFC based combined cooling and power system	2016 – 2020	Technical team lead and local project manager & CSIR NMITLI with IOP-Thermax, Pune