Consider Seals at an Early Stage

Source: Graebener

The fact that various electrolysis and fuel cell technologies exist in parallel and so far no standards have been set for either of them is particularly challenging. “There is currently barely any standardization in the market in terms of plate design,” Kraus says about the situation. Consequently, there is a need for universally valid specifications for plate designs that simplify the seal application and thus speed up the process. As Emig puts it: “Sealing 3D structures is a challenge. If you take certain requirements into account and standardize them, your chances of getting a robust seal are very high. It would be preferable if the design features were much more standardized – then we could perhaps already be producing higher quantities more cheaply.”

In the Graebener interview, he also mentions another objective: “Our customers are looking to acquire a plate from a single source – the ‘assembly-ready’ plate with a seal.” Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ expertise in process engineering is a major advantage here. “Over the long term we need production processes with high quality standards in order to satisfy market requirements with regard to costs and output. Our customers know that we are able to meet the requirements of high-volume scenarios. We have been active in the automotive sector for many years, with much success, and we have quality standards which the automotive industry demands.” The automotive industry’s stringent quality requirements could also offer guidance when it comes to defining sealing standards for bipolar plates.

However, the development times for hydrogen are shorter than those in the automotive industry. This makes it all the more important to have informative test capabilities in laboratories and testing facilities, which Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is currently investing in. When it comes to the company’s comprehensive research and development work, its credo is: We want to understand the whole cell!

The information sharing and collaboration with Graebener are valuable building blocks in this process. “Before series-production readiness, we go through numerous iteration loops together with the customer. It is therefore a huge advantage to be able to access the relevant equipment to produce prototypes and small series,” Kraus explains. Graebener offers these capabilities in a partnership-based development cooperation to Freudenberg Sealing Technologies.