Bac2 leads DTI backed consortium to develop improved bipolar plates for fuel cells
Bac2 Conductive Composites, a UK start-up company, has exploited the unique conducting properties of a novel polymer system to develop ElectroPhen, a low cost, mouldable, composite bipolar plate material for use in the emerging fuel cell industry.
To develop ElectroPhen for the fuel cell market Bac2 will be leading a consortium comprising 5 companies and an academic partner covering the supply chain from polymer supplier to separator plate and fuel cell manufacturers. The £480,000 development programme will be carried out over 18 months and will be 50% funded by the DTI under the ìEmerging Energy Technologiesî Collaborative R&D Programme. The objective of the project is to utilise ElectroPhen to formulate a mouldable polymer composite plate to meet the performance criteria required for fuel cell stack operation and the processing characteristics for rapid mass production.
As the base resin, ElectroPhen is itself electrically conductive; Bac2 expects to demonstrate clear advantages over existing composite bipolar plates that rely on electrically isolating binders such as vinyl ester and phenolic resins.