Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are able to efficiently generate high power densities, making the technology potentially attractive for certain mobile and portable applications. Since the bipolar plate is a major part of the PEMFC stack both in weight and volume, the bipolar plate should be developed with its weight and thickness in mind. For this paper, a bipolar plate for automotive fuel cells was developed with carbon fiber composite by compression molding due to the fact that carbon/epoxy composite has not only high electrical and thermal conductivities, but also high specific stiffness and strength. The mechanical and thermo-electrical properties of the developed composite bipolar plate were measured to investigate its suitability for the automotive fuel cell. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.