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Conductive plastics for fuel-cell prototypes

Mould or machine to form core of polymer electrolyte cells

For power engineers investigating or designing their own fuel cells, materials company Bac2 has introduced blank bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells as a standard product. A fuel cell typically contains a stack of conductive plates, machined to permit the flow of the gaseous fuel, and oxygen. Bac2’s core IP and technology comprises a conductive plastic formulation – ElectroPhen – that engineers can mould or machine to their required shape. Existing fuel cell designs have typically employed metal plates, or composites made from resin-bonded conductive particles; with ElectroPhen, the company says, you can machine blank plates for prototyping purposes, and move to moulded versions for production. Each plate measures 300 x 200 x 3 mm and its conductivity exceeds US Department of Energy specifications for use in automotive applications. You can order up to 100 plates on 7-day delivery. ElectroPhen has a raw-state conductivity one billion times higher than commonly used resin binders, which means that it meets conductivity goals with no post-processing, such as extreme temperature or surface machining. The company is investigating other applications for its conductive plastics technology.