Patent ID: 7601452

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a bi-polar plate assembly useful in a fuel cell, the fuel cell having a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA's), each MEA having a cathode side and an anode side, the method comprising: forming an open anode channel on a first side of a first sub-plate adapted to face the anode side of a first MEA; forming a first open coolant channel on a second side of the first sub-plate adapted to face the cathode side of a second MEA adjacent to the first MEA; forming an open cathode channel on a first side of a second sub-plate adapted to face the cathode side of the second MEA; forming a second open coolant channel on a second side of the second sub-plate adapted to face the anode side of the first MEA; and forming a closed channel between the sub-plates adapted for coolant flow therethrough by nesting the first and second sub-plates together, the nesting including locating a portion of the second sub-plate defining the open cathode channel within the first open coolant channel.