KCS Europe GmbH builds modular systems for coating metallic bipolar plates for series production. Coating is one of the key manufacturing steps in multi-stage production, as the bipolar plates in the H2 fuel cell are exposed to a corrosive environment, among other things. Corrosion leads to the formation of electrically insulating cover layers on the surface of the bipolar plates, which results in a reduction in the efficiency of the H2 fuel cells. This can be remedied by coatings that are usually deposited using low-temperature PVD processes (physical vapor deposition, sputtering and arc processes).
By connecting several coating modules in series (in-line variant, modular design), an automated process is possible with which larger quantities of components can be coated simultaneously in the shortest possible time
Building on the findings from the "BiPolarPilot" R&D project, KCS Europe GmbH is currently developing coating systems for series production and supplying these to international customers.
