Copper alloy bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Bipolar plates are one of the critical componets of the fuel cell. Excellent corrosion resistance and good conductivity are some of the desirable properties for better operation of fuel cells. Corrosion studies of copper–beryllium alloy (C-17200) were conducted in corrosion simulated fuel cell environment by chronoamperometry. The alloy selected was observed to show good corrosion resistance. The selected alloy was tested in an actual fuel cell. Standard parallel flow field design with 16 cm2 surface area was machined on end plates. The single cell showed good performance without degradation of MEA and bipolar plates for 100 h at a constant load of 1 A. Characterization of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and plates revealed no poisoning or degradation. Calculated cell resistance from the polarization curve was 0.0836 Ω which is comparable with SS316L under similar conditions.