In a recent project, ZBT successfully supported the German Aerospace Center DLR in the development of a compact sealing solution for a fuel cell stack intended for cargo bike applications. ZBT assisted in the development of a dispenser optimized sealing design of the metal bipolar plates, developed the sealing application process and performed the sealing application on more than 1.000 bipolar plates.
The dispenser based sealing solution enables extremely compact bipolar plate designs, significantly increasing the stack power densities due to the reduced space requirement of the sealing. The seals are mechanically robust and enable an excellent tolerance compensation of GDL and bipolar plate. Additionally, liquid water accumulation around the media ports is reliably excluded with an integrated sealing contour design.
The dispenser based sealing application is a robust, low-cost process ideally suited for high volume production. A fast application process development that can be easily adapted to different sealing heights without requiring complex or costly tooling makes the dispenser based sealing application also ideally suitable for initial prototyping.
ZBT sealing solutions are successfully being used by more than 15 stack developers worldwide, and ZBT has already licensed the application process to several stack producers that are establishing production lines for higher volumes.
If you are looking for a reliable sealing solution for your fuel cell stack or if you have any questions regarding fuel cell sealing, please contact us!
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