A new approach to PEM fuel cell stack fabrication has been demonstrated. This approach is based on the use of light weight metal conductive elements together with nonconductive elements fabricated from engineering thermoplastics to yield a lightweight stack that can be manufactured from flat sheets of stock materials using inexpensive mass production techniques. The stack described here has a power output of over 520 W from a volume of 616 mt and a mass of 539 g for a power density of 967 W/kg and 846 W/L while operating at a pressure of 103 kPa with a 53% conversion efficiency. It is projected that with further refinement, PEM fuel cell stacks with power densities over 1,500 W/kg and 1,200 W/L can be produced.