a water transport plate is provided with optimized physical characteristics to greatly improve fuel cell operation . in a preferred method of manufacturing , graphite powder , reinforcing fibers , cellulosic fibers , and a thermosetting resin are mixed with a liquid to form a slurry and showered onto a screen to form a planar sheet which is dried to form paper . the paper is cut into the desired size and is laid - up . the lay - up is laminated with pressure and heat , carbonized , and graphitized to form a water transport plate for later machining as desired . the finished water transport plate exhibits optimal physical characteristics for bubble pressure , water permeability , median pore size , porosity , thru - plane resistivity and compressive yield strength .