Russian inventors from the Hydrogen Energy Center have patented a design for a bipolar plate for a fuel cell — a device that directly converts chemical energy into electrical energy. The development may find application in hydrogen energy, electric vehicles, and stationary power plants.
The plate consists of two identical thin-sheet elements with corrugated relief. They are connected by a contour weld seam, having been pre-rotated relative to each other by 180 degrees. The corrugated relief with straight and wavy channels is made in a hexagonal active area — regular hexagons are nested into each other at a strictly defined distance.
The channels rotate 180 degrees around alternating centers of symmetry, changing direction first by 60 degrees when crossing the large diagonal of one hexagon, then by 120 degrees when crossing the small diagonal of the neighboring one, after which the sequence is repeated in reverse order.
This geometry, according to the authors, increases the reliability of the fuel cell and expands the possibilities for its arrangement in batteries of various power.