Forced decomposition/degradation conducting

Bipolar plates in two ways can contribute to the limited lifetime of PEM fuel cell stacks first is the physical decomposition of the materials or parts of the materials resulting in mechanical instability, leakage or decrease of electrical conductivity second is the release of additives and materials to the fuel cell environment forcing degradation processes in further fuel cell parts such as gaskets, MEAs, and peripheral components. These phenomena are to be considered both for composite-based and metal-based bipolar plates. 

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