Polymer coated metallic bipolar separator plate and method of assembly

A fuel cell comprising:

• a current collector;
• a proton exchange membrane;
• and
• a fuel cell bipolar separator plate comprising metal foil that is at least partially coated with a coating that is stable when in contact with or in close proximity to the proton exchange membrane and within the environment of the anode and cathode environments of the fuel cell;
• wherein the current collector is bonded, welded or embedded into and through the coating such that the current collector is in contact with the fuel cell bipolar separator plate and the integrity of the coating is not violated.

A fuel cell comprising:

• a current collector;
• a proton exchange membrane;
• a fuel cell bipolar separator plate comprising metal foil that is at least partially coated with a coating that is stable when in contact with or in close proximity to the proton exchange membrane and within the environment of the anode and cathode environments of the fuel cell;
• an intermediary support element bonded, welded or embedded into and through the coating such that the intermediary support element is in contact with the fuel cell bipolar separator plate and the integrity of the coating is not violated.

A method of manufacturing a fuel cell that utilizes a proton exchange membrane, the method comprising the steps of:

• coating a fuel cell bipolar separator plate comprising an anode face and an opposing cathode face with a thermal-plastic polymer coating that is stable when in contact with or in close proximity to the proton exchange membrane and within the environment of the anode and cathode environments of the fuel cell;
• positioning an anode current collector over the anode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate;
• positioning a cathode current collector over the cathode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate;
• compressing the current collectors into the polymer while applying heat such that the anode current collector flows into and through the polymer coating and contacts the anode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate and the cathode current collector flows into and through the polymer coating and contacts the cathode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate.

A method of manufacturing a fuel cell utilizing a proton exchange membrane, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a fuel cell bipolar separator plate comprising an anode face, an opposing cathode face and a central active area comprising a plurality of ribs comprising peaks;
• providing an anode current collector and a cathode current collector;
• applying deposits of a coating that is stable when in contact with or in close proximity to the proton exchange membrane and within the environment of the anode and cathode environments of the fuel cell to the current collectors at intervals equal to the peaks of the ribs of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate;
• positioning the anode current collector over the anode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate such that the peaks of the ribs of the anode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate align with the coating deposits on the anode current collector;
• positioning the cathode current collector over the cathode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate such that the peaks of the ribs of the cathode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate align with the coating deposits on the cathode current collector;
• compressing the current collectors into the fuel cell bipolar separator plate while applying heat such that the anode current collector flows into and through the polymer coating and contacts the anode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate and the cathode current collector flows into and through the polymer coating and contacts the cathode face of the fuel cell bipolar separator plate.