A single-type aluminum/composite hybrid bipolar plate with surface modification for high efficiency PEMFC

An aluminum/composite hybrid bipolar plate with a bypass aluminum channel has been developed. The mechanical abrading technique and electromagnetic-carbon technique are employed for surface modification of aluminum and composite, respectively. The optimum processes of surface modification techniques for aluminum and composite are investigated to promote intimate contact between aluminum and carbon fibers of composite for low electrical resistance. After the surfaces of the aluminum and carbon fiber prepregs are treated with the surface modification techniques, they are co-cured with the single-type of bipolar plate to lower the electrical contact resistance. In this study, it has been found that the hybrid bipolar plate has only 3% of the electrical resistance of the conventional composite bipolar plates.