Bipolar plate made of carbon fiber epoxy composite for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are able to efficiently generate high power densities, making the technology potentially attractive for certain mobile and portable applications. Since the bipolar plate is a major part of the PEMFC stack both in weight and volume, the bipolar plate should be developed with its weight and thickness in mind. For this paper, a bipolar plate for automotive fuel cells was developed with carbon fiber composite by compression molding due to the fact that carbon/epoxy composite has not only high electrical and thermal conductivities, but also high specific stiffness and strength. The mechanical and thermo-electrical properties of the developed composite bipolar plate were measured to investigate its suitability for the automotive fuel cell.