Fuel cells represent one of the key technologies in the development of environmentally friendly power sources. They produce water vapour as a waste product and no carbon dioxide. ElectroPhen is easily manufactured economically in bulk and the cost and performance advantages it offers have the potential to accelerate the adoption of fuel cell technology for powering everything from notebook computers to buses and cars.

The new fuel cell test laboratory, based around state-of-the-art test equipment from H2Economy, will enable the company to accelerate development of customised versions of ElectroPhen. Each fuel cell design has differing plate requirements with respect to the balance of conductivity, hydrogen permeability, hydrophobicity and mechanical strength needed.  

The test lab will be used for in-cell testing of the material, enabling the best composite for each application to be developed. Bac2’s CEO, Mike Stannard, said, “We believe that a responsible component supplier to an industry on the cusp of large scale expansion should play its part in releasing components and component materials that have been tested in a genuine and properly recorded in-cell environment. 

The test equipment investment not only means that we can do this, it means that we can do it quickly and accurately, something that will be of vital importance to companies entering the increasingly competitive fuel cell market.”

Recent independent tests on ElectroPhen by the University of Portsmouth (UK) have confirmed its technical suitability as a fuel cell material. Furthermore, mechanical engineering students at the university recently completed a successful final-year project to create an innovative air-breathing fuel cell using Bac2’s ElectroPhen plates, which were moulded to their own design.

About Bac2

Bac2 is the developer of ElectroPhen™, an electrically conductive plastic that will make a significant contribution to the early adoption of clean energy from fuel cell stacks. Fuel cells are technically proven sources of clean energy for our planet, but adoption is presently limited by cost. Up to 30% of the cost of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks, the most popular types, comes from so-called bipolar plates and end plates that interconnect individual cells and provide connections to the outside world. The bipolar plates have to conduct electricity, keep the reaction gasses separated and channel away waste water and heat from the reaction. ElectroPhen™ is a unique material that can be used to form these plates and it will contribute significantly to improvements in fuel cell cost/performance. Furthermore, as Bac2 demonstrates that ElectroPhen™ is mechanically more flexible than alternative materials developed for this application, it will result in a more rugged and reliable product. ElectroPhen™ therefore has the potential to bring forward the day fuel cells become widely adopted. 

Already in commercial use as auxiliary generators, fuel cells are widely expected to power everything from cars and buses to laptops and mobile phones and even homes and offices in the years to come. They provide clean efficient energy as part of the emerging hydrogen economy, which is seen as the most viable energy technology for tackling increasingly serious concerns over oil and gas supply as well as harmful climate changing emissions caused by burning hydrocarbon fuels. The only waste product from hydrogen fuel cells is water. 

Bac2 is in the process of developing ElectroPhen™ commercially and has patents pending in Europe, America and Japan. ElectroPhen™ is made from readily available low-cost constituents, can be pressed or moulded to complex shapes, and is robust enough for harsh environments. By comparison, competitors produce composite plates using electrically insulating resins to bind together conductive particles such as graphite. In addition to its role in fuel cells, Bac2 will find an increasingly wide range of applications in electrical and electronic industries.
Bac2 is a privately owned company based in Southampton, United Kingdom.