Solution Based Nanostructured Carbon Coatings for Reusable, Corrosion Resistant, Stamped Metallic Bipolar Plates

Decarbonization of the transportation sector is one of the major US national goals. Adoption of green hydrogen as a clean energy vector is an inevitable pathway towards that goal and the recent US-DOE investment of $7Bin clean hydrogen hubs leveraging nearly $40B from the private sector is a clear a recognition of the urgency and magnitude of the problem. While large scale Electrolyzers will convert renewable energy and water into Hydrogen gas, polymer electrolyte-based Hydrogen fuel cells are needed at the point of use for converting the hydrogen back to useful electric power. Regarding the transportation sector, even if 5% of the nearly 13.5 million heavy duty trucks on the US roads were to go Ĺgreenĺ that will require about 168 GW of power installed on board in the form of heavy-duty fuel cell stacks. Near term matching of the cost of such stacks with those of internal combustion engines can happen only with continuous innovations across materials, components, and system levels. Clenersysĺ stamped metallic bipolar plates with an ink-based, durable, corrosion resistant and easily refurbishable carbon protective coatings provide a superior solution to competing and expensive alternatives like gold, nitride or evaporated carbon coatings. Having delivered proof of concept results at component level during phase I, Clenersys and its team partners aim to build and demonstrate a 1kW prototype fuel cell during the phase II effort. Based on the success of the phase I effort, Clenersys was able to attract and include valuable partners as part of the phase II team effort. A key variant of the prototypes built during the phase II effort will house a high-temperature membrane type that is already manufactured in the US by one of the team partners. Further, an automotive fuel-cell industry veteran as part of the team, bringing in 30 years of experience with the hydrogen fuel cell programs at major US automobile manufacturers adds to the strength of the team to deliver on the stated goals. Further, during the phase I effort we demonstrated the ability to stamp the coatings post deposition, thus moving the technology closer towards the cost-effective and domestic mass production of the stamped plates in roll-to-roll steel coil stamping manufacturing facilities with several decades of experience serving the US automotive industry.