Journal
JOURNAL OF RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
Volume 13, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/5.0031447
Keywords
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Funding
- Advanced Manufacturing for Energy Systems (AMES) fellowship at the University of Connecticut - U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office traineeship program [DE-EE0008302]
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Bipolar plates play a crucial role in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, but their weight, volume, and cost present challenges to commercialization. This paper reviews materials and manufacturing processes for bipolar plates, highlighting additive manufacturing as an innovative method to improve their properties.
Bipolar plates are a crucial component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells. They are responsible for transporting reactant gases, carrying the current from the membrane electrode assembly to the end plates, providing heat and water management, and separating the individual cells. However, these plates also contribute to 80% of the fuel cell's weight, 50% of its volume, and 40% of its cost, posing a barrier to the commercialization of fuel cells. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the materials and manufacturing processes used in the fabrication of bipolar plates as well as recent research conducted on the improvement of bipolar plate weight, volume, and cost through material selection and manufacturing methods. Additive manufacturing is highlighted in this work as an innovative manufacturing method to produce bipolar plates. Novel contributions in this paper include a detailed explanation of traditional manufacturing processes for metallic and graphitic-polymer bipolar plates as well as a cost comparison between additive and traditional manufacturing processes.
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