Research progress on bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Application of carbon materials and key technologies

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) bipolar plates have significant functions in current collection, gas separation, structural support, and thermal control. They account for 60 %–80 % of the overall volume of the fuel cell stack and 20 %–40 % of the cost, making them one of the eight main components of PEMFCs. To provide high performance under demanding working conditions, selecting bipolar plate materials is critical. Carbon, as one of the most plentiful elements on Earth, is abundantly available, cost-effective, and displays corrosion resistance and good conductivity. Therefore, carbon materials have been extensively investigated and employed in PEMFC bipolar plates, gaining substantial attention. This paper briefly overviews the recent development of carbon-based bipolar plates. It focuses on the research advancement, systematic analysis, and summation of carbon-based coated metal bipolar plates relating to coating design, preparation, and critical technologies. Furthermore, it underlines the essential difficulties that need to be addressed for the practical implementation of carbon-based bipolar plates and offers insights into the future development patterns of these plates. •Carbon materials are suitable for base materials and coating materials on BPPs in PEMFCs.•The design and preparation of carbon-based coated metal BPPs are reviewed.•Key technologies faced by carbon-based coated metal BPPs are summarized.•Technical barriers and developing trends of carbon materials in BPPs are discussed.