Continuous Coating of Bipolar Plates via Plasma-Activated EB-PVD Technology

For highly productive and cost-effective manufacturing of bipolar plates for electrolyzers and fuel cells, the transition of state-of-the-art technologies to roll-to-roll processes is a promising approach for the so called “pre-coating". To this end, protective coatings such as Ti thin films have been deposited by plasma-activated electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) using spotless arc-activated deposition (SAD) in an in-line process applied on thin metal foils as well as on carbon-filled polymers as feedstock materials for bipolar plates. Using plasma-activated EB-PVD, dense coatings with high corrosion resistance can be applied to metal strip before embossing into bipolar plates.