In this tech talk, Steven had the pleasure of discussing about fuel cell bipolar plates production lines with Fabian Kapp, Managing Director at Gräbener Maschinentechnik.
Learn about fuel cell bipolar plates production lines
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Steven Oji discusses with Fabian Kapp of Gräbener Maschinentechnik who explains the process of manufacturing bipolar plates for the hydrogen, fuel cell and electrolyser industry.
The production line for bipolar plate starts with a decoiling system, where the metal sheet is uncoiled. The sheet then goes through a forming process using water pressure to shape it into a plate. After forming, the plate goes through a cleaning station and then gets separated into individual pieces. Then, Laser technology is used for the precise cutting of the plates, ensuring high accuracy and edge quality.
The next step is welding, where the anode and cathode plates are joined together using a special clamping and fixing technology. The welding process is critical and requires expertise to ensure a strong and leak-tight connection.
After welding, the plates go through a straightening process to correct any curvature resp. warping and make them flat. This is important for stacking the plates to form a stable structure. The exact details of the straightening process are proprietary to Graebener®, but it has been developed through years of experience and aims to provide a flat final product. The plates then undergo another cleaning process to remove any residues from the welding process. A leak test is performed to ensure the plates are tightly sealed.
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Steven is a fuel cell system designer and he will deep-dive into the technology that makes the hydrogen economy work with real experts. We hope you will like the new format.