High-Throughput Coating Processes for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates

质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)在所有类型的燃料电池中具有最高的功率密度，这使得它们特别适合于需要最小尺寸和重量的运输和便携式应用。传统的质子交换膜燃料电池使用由石墨(体积大，加工成本高)或不锈钢制成的双极板。在汽车PEMFC中占主导地位的不锈钢双极板(BPP)需要一层保护性涂层才能达到预期的性能和寿命。汽车多千瓦电堆需要数百个电池，因此开发能够提供高产量和经济的涂层生产的涂层工艺非常重要。在形成双极板或隔板之前在金属板上沉积涂层也是非常理想的，而涂层不会受到随后的成型工艺的不利影响。该项目将评估在半连续在线涂层沉积设备中扩大高性能燃料电池BPP涂层的可行性，以及扩大对涂层关键性能特征和生产成本的影响。将对预成型燃料电池板的涂层和涂层后形成的板的放大效果进行评估，以便就未来最合适的放大工艺作出决定。

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) display the highest power densities of any of the fuel cell types, which makes them particularly attractive for transportation & portable applications where minimum size and weight are required. Conventional PEMFCs utilise bipolar plates which are made from graphite (bulky and expensive to machine) or stainless steel. Stainless steel bipolar plates (BPPs), which are dominant in automotive PEMFCs, require a protective coating to achieve the desired performance and lifetime. Hundreds of cells are required within an automotive multi-kW stack, hence it is important to develop coating processes which provide high throughput and economic production of coatings. It is also highly desirable to deposit coatings on metal sheets prior to the forming of bipolar or separator plates, without the coating being adversely affected by the subsequent forming processes. This project will evaluate the feasibility of scale up of high-performance fuel cell BPP coatings in a semi-continuous inline coating deposition equipment, and the effect of scale-up on critical performance characteristics as well as the cost of production of coatings. The effect of scale-up will be evaluated both for coating of pre-formed fuel cell plates and on plates formed post coating, in order to inform decisions on the most appropriate future scale up processes.