Various types of coatings have been developed in the past or are still being developed and evaluated in some cases:
- Au (gold)
- Pt (platinum)
- Ti (titanium)
- Metal nitrides (titanium nitride and others)
- DLC (diamond-like-carbon, diamond-like carbon in various compositions)
- Multilayer coatings (consist of several functional layers of different materials)
These coatings can be deposited using PVD (physical vapor deposition). The following processes are used:
- Arc evaporation (arc evaporation)
- Magnetron sputtering (magnetron sputtering)
- PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition)
The objectives of coatings used in the hydrogen economy are
- Corrosion protection
- Reduction of contact resistance
- Extending the service life of the coated parts
- Protection of other components e.g. MEA from poisoning
- Cost savings through the use of cheaper base materials
PVT has developed highly effective and economical coatings. These can be applied in large-scale production using tried-and-tested coating processes in our in-line systems. Customer-specific coatings are implemented in coating processes for mass production in our systems.
The continuous further development of optimized coating systems in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness – e.g. precious metal-free coatings – is one of our highest priorities in order to be able to offer you the optimum coating for your application. The flexibility of our in-line systems provides the best starting point to meet current and future requirements.
Coating Samples
Metal-nitrides coated bipolar plates from an international bipolar plate manufacturer.
DLC coated bipolar plate from an international bipolar plate manufacturer.