Porous flow fields distribute fuel and oxygen for the
electrochemical
reactions of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells through their
pore network instead of conventional flow channels. This type of flow
fields has showed great promises in enhancing reactant supply, heat
removal, and electrical conduction, reducing the concentration performance
loss and improving operational stability for fuel cells. This review
presents the research and development progress of porous flow fields
with insights for next-generation PEM fuel cells of high power density
(e.g., ∼9.0 kW L–1). Materials, fabrication
methods, fundamentals, and fuel cell performance associated with porous
flow fields are discussed in depth. Major challenges are described
and explained, along with several future directions, including separated
gas/liquid flow configurations, integrated porous structure, full
morphology modeling, data-driven methods, and artificial intelligence-assisted
design/optimization.