The foil-based compound bipolar plates of Fraunhofer UMSICHT combine the advantages of metallic plates ("thin, flexible and malleable") with the advantages of plastic compounds ("inexpensive and long service life"). At the same time, they avoid the respective disadvantages (expensive alloys, protective coatings, brittleness and high material thickness). In particular, the adjustable flexibility or stiffness qualifies the material for a wide variety of applications. In addition, the unique product properties such as formability, laminability and weldability open up new possibilities for stack design.