The usage of hydrogen and corresponding technologies are crucial elements in the transition towards an environmentally friendly industry. In order to achieve the newly set emission targets by the European Union, polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a versatile and promising application. The bipolar plate is a key component of a fuel cell and can be produced from metals, graphite or composites. Here, metallic bipolar plates, for example austenitic stainless steel, can be at least 35 % thinner and cheaper compared to the other materials. However, the native oxide layer leads to an increased electrical resistance to the adjacent gas-diffusion layer. In addition to this, steel has a higher susceptibility for corrosion in the fuel cell environment. Therefore, a surface modification is necessary to improve the electrical and electro-chemical properties. We investigate a carbon-based thin film on stainless steel substrates which is a highly conductive and protective coating. The thin film is deposited by cathodic arc evaporation technique which is characterized by its high deposition rates and low process costs. Potentiodynamic polarization tests and interfacial-contact resistance (ICR) measurements were conducted to evaluate the performance of the coat-ings. It was found that the carbon-based coating improves the corrosion resistance, leading to significantly reduced corrosion current density compared to the native substrate. The measured ICR-values are well be-low the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) 2020 technical target of 10 mΩ/cm2. Moreover, the conductivity of the thin films is comparable to gold. In a next step, the developed batch deposition will be upscaled to a band process. First tests revealed that a stable deposition, paired with a constant coating quality could be achieved. Based on these results, it is possible to build a cost-efficient in-line manufacturing route, suitable for mass production of bipolar plates for future fuel cell applications.