Dr. José M. Serra (1976) became a Full Professor in Spain in March 2015 and was
appointed as ITQ director in 2022. His research has evolved since early work on
catalysis to materials for energy applications including reaction kinetics, mass transfer,
thermodynamic modelling, membranes for gas separation and fuel cells for energy
delivery. He did his Ph.D. work at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ) directed
by Prof. A. Corma in collaboration with the Institute Français du Petrole. The thesis
involved the development of new tools for combinatorial catalysis and its application in
the discovery and optimisation of industrial catalysts. Most of his work has been
focusing on the fundamental understanding of materials for chemical engineering and
energy applications. Upon completing his PhD, JMS spent 2 years at the
Forschungszentrum Julich (FZJ) in Germany working in the area of CCUS and nano-
structured electrocatalysts for solid oxide fuel cells. FZJ is one of the top world
research providers in the area of Energy, including a Nobel Laureate. During his time at
FZJ, Prof. Serra acquired fundamental and practical knowledge in materials for energy
engineering application, based on the German system of research. Subsequently, JMS
joined the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ) at UPV where he took leadership
roles since the beginning of his appointment. As an early career researcher, Prof. Serra
became a research leader in Fuel Cells in 2006, and in 2011 the Deputy Coordinator
for the Materials Science Program as a representative of the Spanish Research
Council (CSIC) on the European Research Alliance (EERA). Since 2023, he has been
CSIC national representative in Hydrogen Europe Research. Apart from other
leadership roles, Prof. Serra is currently the Head of the Energy Conversion and
Storage Research Group at ITQ-UPV. 
JMS has authored more than 205 scientific articles and 30 patents ranging from
catalysis of hydrocarbons and syngas conversion, proton conducting membranes for
hydrogen separation, solid-oxide cells and gas-separation membranes, among many
others. Many of his patents have been assigned to the industry, such as AMTECH
GmbH (Germany), French Institute of Petroleum, TotalEnergies and CoorsTek. Prof.
Serra has also been successful in the IP transference and commercialisation of his
research efforts as a Co-founder of Kerionics SL, a Spanish spin-off company based
on solid-oxide cell stacks for low-carbon H 2 and O 2 generation for medium-scale
industrial processes, which received the prestigious award from REPSOL. 
JMS activities focus on the application of catalysis, materials science and engineering
in:
a. Understanding fundamental physicochemical mechanisms of industrial processes.
b. Development of electrochemical cells, electrocatalysts and H 2 technology.
c. Development of selective conducting membranes and advanced catalytic reactors.
d. Process intensification and optimisation in energy and chemistry industry.
e. Industry decarbonisation and CCUS.
Selected Honours and Awards 
• Air Liquide Grand Challenge (2019) - Lower-CO 2 H 2  
• Royal Spanish Engineering Academy Medal 2016 (Juan López de Peñalver) 
• European Ceramic Society Young Scientist Award (ECerS) in 2015. 
• Christian Friedrich Schonbein Contribution to Science Medal by the European Fuel
Cell Forum (Luzern, Switzerland) in 2009. 
• Exxon Mobil Chemical European Science and Engineering award (2005) 
• Best PhD thesis awarded by the Spanish Catalysis Society (SECAT) in 2005