Jiangsu Qingneng New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Fuel Cell) announced a breakthrough in ultra-thin, high-performance graphite bipolar plate technology, laying the foundation for next-generation automotive fuel cell power generation.
Bipolar plates play an important role in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The role of the bipolar plates (also known as separators) is to provide gas flow channels, prevent the hydrogen and oxygen in the battery gas chamber from colluding with each other, and connect them in series. A current path is established between the cathode and anode. Under the premise of maintaining a certain mechanical strength and a good gas barrier effect, the thickness of the bipolar plate should be as thin as possible to reduce the conduction resistance to current and heat and to provide an electrical connection between single cells.
The latest development achieves a plate thickness of 0.85mm, which was previously only possible with metal bipolar plates. This enables fuel cell power densities over 4kW/L, a 100-200% improvement over most graphite plate designs and a 20-40% increase over most metal plate designs.
The importance of power density is obvious, as new demands on PEM fuel cells inevitably lead to higher power systems. This is often accompanied by very demanding durability and lifetime expectations that are difficult to meet with metallic bipolar plates.
Graphite bipolar plates are widely used in stationary fuel cell systems for their excellent electrical conductivity and long lifetime. However, conventional graphite sheets are usually two to three times thicker than metal sheets. This limits adoption to automotive applications where compact size and weight are important.
Fuel cell performance is affected by the design of the "flow field," which describes the way reactants and exhaust gases pass through the bipolar plates. Optimizing the flow field is a challenge for metallic bipolar plates due to the limitations of metal formation; however, with molded graphite plates, flow field designs are virtually limitless. This lays the foundation for next-generation automotive stacks with higher power densities.
CEO Gu (Gu Zhijun) commented: "The developed ultra-thin graphite sheet removes concerns about the thickness of sheet-like components in automotive applications while delivering excellent electrical performance and system lifetime. Our customers do not need to make compromises in Compromise cost or performance. Any compromise."
With the strong support of the Chinese government, the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles in China is driving continuous innovation in zero-emission vehicle technology, including fuel cells and related material technologies. Combining its China base with strategic relationships around the world to achieve technological breakthroughs and penetrate global markets.
It has ambitious plans for its liquid-cooled fuel cells, which are moving beyond automotive applications into stationary power generation. Gu promises, "You can expect even greater contributions in high-power fuel cell systems."
About fuel cell technology:
is a global leader in PEM fuel cell systems, with a wide range of fuel cells in air-cooled and liquid-cooled designs, delivering fuel cell modules up to the net output. It recently started production and testing at its new PEM fuel cell manufacturing facility in Rugao, China, with stack capacities of up to 30 MW per year. (Source: Hydrogen and Fuel Cells)
ASIACHEM officially launched the "China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Monthly Report", which is committed to providing readers with comprehensive and accurate information on China's hydrogen energy and fuel cell industry policies, markets, projects, and technologies.
Each issue of "China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Monthly" provides you with the following columns:
Industrial policy and planning: the latest hydrogen energy and fuel cell-related industrial policies and development plans from the central and local governments
Hydrogen energy production and storage and transportation: Hydrogen energy production and storage and transportation technologies and project trends
Hydrogen refueling station construction progress: hydrogen refueling station planning, construction, and operation status
Fuel cell technology and application: the latest fuel cell technology and key materials (proton exchange membrane, bipolar plate, catalyst, etc.) progress
Fuel cell vehicles: operation status and production projects of fuel cell vehicles
To provide independent and objective analysis, comments, and reference opinions for industry and enterprise decision-makers, ASIACHEM, as a consulting organization focusing on the emerging fields of energy and chemical industry, launched the "China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Annual Report 2018". , Welcome to the request catalog.
The 2019 Hydrogen Production, Hydrogen Storage, and Hydrogen Refueling Station Technology Forum will be held in Wuhan, Hubei Province on February 26-27, 2019. The meeting will discuss the development prospects and investment opportunities of the global and Chinese hydrogen energy industry chain, the development of renewable energy electrolysis hydrogen production and fossil energy large-scale hydrogen production technology, the potential of industrial by-product hydrogen resources, liquid hydrogen, and high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage technology. Economic comparison, application prospect of methanol, formic acid, and formic acid hydrogen storage technology, liquid organic matter, key technology, construction cost and operation experience of a hydrogen refueling station, the idea of joint construction of hydrogen refueling station and gas refueling station, etc.
The 2019 Fuel Cell Power System and Key Components Forum will be held in Wuhan, Hubei Province on February 27-28, 2019. The conference will discuss the development status and market prospects of global and Chinese fuel cell power systems, localization and intelligent manufacturing, etc. Conduct discussions on fuel cell power system and technological progress of key components, electric stack, membrane electrode, bipolar plate technology progress, on-board hydrogen storage, hydrogen supply, and circulation system, fuel cell air compressor technology research and performance improvement, thermal management and water resources Management design and optimization, automotive high-power DC/DC application progress, fuel cell vehicle electronic control system, drive motor and energy storage battery, etc.
For more information, or to request the catalog of ASIACHEM's "China Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cell Annual Report 2018", please contact ASIACHEM:
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