The quest for lightweight, compact batteries in power supplies and in electric vehicle is unrelenting, but researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen, have developed a flexible and thin bipolar plate material for batteries which do not require sealing, which makes them vulnerable to leakage, and which can be welded to create large plates if required. Thicknesses can also vary, depending on the amount of graphene used for conductivity. “We can make plates that are so flexible that you can wrap them around your finger, as well as ones that are completely stiff,” said Dr Anna Grevé, department head at Fraunhofer UMSICHT.
Commercially available polymers and graphites are used and distributed homogeneously to manufacture the plates in any size required. They can shaped after production and embossed to create flow fields for use in fuel cells.
Having flexible bipolar plates made of polymers mean that individual cells do not have to be connected as they currently are. This improves efficiency and manufacturing, compared with the typical cell architecture.
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