Hydrogen technology plays a crucial role in the energy transition and offers climate-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. For the successful ramp-up of the hydrogen economy, highly productive technologies are needed for the cost-effective production of the required assemblies for generation and use. To this end, the in-line vacuum coating plant for sheets and metal strips for plasma-activated electron beam evaporation was qualified at Fraunhofer FEP for the highly productive and efficient coating of bipolar plates for electrolyzes and fuel cells. The results will be presented at the Clean Hydrogen Convention, October 25 – 26, 2023, at the Fraunhofer joint booth No. B-11 in hall 3, at the Dresden Trade Fair Center, Germany.

Hydrogen technology plays a pivotal role in the transition to cleaner energy, offering solutions for storing renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuels in both industry and transportation. Germany, in alignment with its national hydrogen strategy, is taking steps to promote the hydrogen economy. The development of efficient technologies for cost-effective mass production of hydrogen-related components is essential for this transition.

Fraunhofer FEP, a leading developer of electron beam and plasma technologies, has made significant progress in this field. Electron beams offer a unique set of physical, chemical, and biological effects, combined with energy efficiency, precision, and flexibility. Plasma-activated electron beam evaporation, in particular, is a vacuum coating process that enables both high throughput and high coating quality, crucial for components like bipolar plates used in electrolyzers and fuel cells.

Fraunhofer FEP's in-line vacuum coating system, MAXI, is a pilot plant uniquely qualified for coating metallic sheets and strips, specifically for bipolar plates. These plates must withstand a chemically aggressive environment while maintaining long-term stability and electrical conductivity. Fraunhofer FEP's expertise in coating technologies, using methods like plasma-activated electron beam physical vapor deposition, contributes to the high-speed coating of various substrates, enhancing the scalability of production in the roll-to-roll process.

Notably, this process allows for a low substrate temperature, making it suitable for sensitive materials like electrically conductive polymers, which hold promise as innovative alternatives for batteries and fuel cells. Initial results demonstrate the successful coating of metallic strips with titanium, featuring homogeneous layers with coarsely crystalline structures at high strip speeds, all contributing to the advancement of hydrogen technology and the clean energy transition.

Read the full press release here.