Method for producing a bipolar plate strand, method for producing a bipolar plate and device for carrying out the method

A method for producing a bipolar fuel cell plate, comprising:

• providing a first unipolar plate and a second unipolar plate, the first and second unipolar plates each comprising a plurality of webs and a plurality of channels, each channel extending between two adjacent webs;
• guiding the first and second unipolar plates towards a rolling gap of a pair of rollers of a rolling device provided with a rolling structure, the rolling structure having active roller elevations and passive roller elevations;
• locally heating at least one surface area of a surface of one or both of the first and second unipolar plates to a joining temperature immediately before or upon entry of the first and second unipolar plates into the rolling gap;
• and
• joining the first and second unipolar plates to one another at the at least one surface area to form a bipolar plate during transport of the first and second unipolar plates through the rolling gap under the action of pressure, wherein the active roller elevations join the first and second unipolar plates located in the rolling gap and the passive roller elevations do not join the first and second unipolar plates located in the rolling gap.

A device for carrying out a method for producing a bipolar plate strand having a plurality of contiguous bipolar fuel cell plates, the method comprising:

• providing a first unipolar plate strand and a second unipolar plate strand, the first and second unipolar plate strands each comprising a plurality of webs and a plurality of channels, each channel extending between two adjacent webs;
• guiding the first and second unipolar plate strands towards a rolling gap of a pair of rollers of a rolling device provided with a rolling structure, the rolling structure having active roller elevations and passive roller elevations;
• locally heating at least one surface area of a surface of one or both of the first and second unipolar plate strands to a joining temperature immediately before or upon entry of the first and second unipolar plate strands into the rolling gap;
• and joining the first and second unipolar plate strands to one another at the at least one surface area to form the bipolar plate strand during transport of the first and second unipolar plate strands through the rolling gap under the action of pressure, wherein the active roller elevations join the first and second unipolar plate strands located in the rolling gap and the passive roller elevations do not join the first and second unipolar plate strands located in the rolling gap, the device comprising:
• a heater configured to heat the at least one surface area of the surface of the one or both of the first and second unipolar plate strands to the joining temperature;
• and
• the rolling device including the pair of rollers forming the rolling gap between them,
• wherein at least one of the rollers of the pair of rollers is provided with the rolling structure which is configured to press a plurality of surface areas of the two unipolar plate strands heated to the joining temperature during transport through the rolling gap in such a way that the two unipolar plate strands are joined to form the bipolar plate strand at the surface areas.