**4. Summary**

It has been shown that metallic bipolar plates are prone to corrosion attack in the fuel cell environment. In addition, the use of precious noble metals is not economical in meeting the future cost projection of fuel cells to successfully compete with combustion engine vehicles. Though noble metals offer excellent conductivity and good corrosion resistance, they are phased out as viable bipolar plate materials over difficulty in forming them into thin strips. Composite-based bipolar plates are known for brittleness which in the long run may easily fail in operation of the fuel cell.

Metallic bipolar plates were proven to surpass the mechanical strength of graphite composite plates as well as giving acceptable electrical conductivity with minimal production cost on commercial scale. As indicated earlier, metallic plates are prone to corrosion in the fuel cell environment. Considerable research work has been conducted to enhance the material's corrosion resistance and interfacial contact resistance. It is concluded that metallic bipolar plates hold a promising potential as more research and development studies progress on its surface modification through different functional coatings.
