Southampton, UK--Bac2, the fuel-cell materials company, has appointed Jim Totczyk (43) as Head of Production. The move is part of the company’s strategy to gear up for volume manufacture of bipolar plates and end plates made from its patented ElectroPhen conductive polymer. 

Totczyk’s initial role will be to develop manufacturing processes that both improve the smoothness of finish for even lower contact resistance and to look at all aspects of cost-effective manufacturing. Volumes are expected to reach millions of units per annum in the coming years as the adoption of fuel cell technology becomes more widespread.

Totczyk is a production engineering specialist. He joins Bac2 from Meggitt Avionics where, as Head of Operations, he was instrumental in introducing lean manufacturing processes to the business. Before that he spent 17 years with Brookes & Gatehouse, latterly as Director of Manufacturing, where he worked on polymer moulding techniques for hermetic sealing. 

Bac2’s Managing Director, Mike Stannard, said: “We are very fortunate to have found someone of Jim’s expertise and experience to join us as we develop our manufacturing strategy. His experience is directly relevant to the challenges we face and his appointment will accelerate our penetration of the market for conductive plates in fuel cells.”

Bac2’s unique conductive polymer, ElectroPhen, is ideally suited to conductive plate production for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and other low temperature fuel cells. It is made from readily available bulk materials and can be moulded at room temperature using simple processes. Other composite plate solutions require extra surface treatments or high temperature firing to overcome the use of non- conductive resins, making them more expensive. High filler loadings can also make rival products brittle and fragile – an undesirable characteristic, particularly for fuel cells used in demanding automotive applications. ElectroPhen already exceeds the US Department of Energy in-plane conductivity target of 200 Siemens per centimeter by a large margin.