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Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) alone or combined with carbon nanofibers (CNF) at different loadings have been fabricated by melt mixing with a focus on their mechanical properties and corrosion resistance for bipolar plates applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The incorporation of up to 20 wt% MWCNT in the PP matrix produces enhancements of 71, 47, 56, and 30% in microhardness, elastic modulus, and tensile and flexural strength, respectively. Combined additions of MWCNT and CNF allow producing hybrid nanocomposites with increased strength than when neat MWCNT as reinforcement, preserving their processability even at a total filler content of up to 30 wt%. The measured values of i corr in both PP/MWCNT and PP/MWCNT/CNF suggest a slow degradation rate in the PEMFC environment. Based on the US Department of Energy (DOE) targets, PP/20MWCNT, PP/21.5MWCNT, and PP/15MWCNT/15CNF nanocomposites are good candidates to produce bipolar plates for PEMFCs. [Display omitted] • PP/MWCNT and PP/MWCNT/CNF blends are evaluated for potential use in bipolar plates. • Hybrid composites reach 45.3 MPa in flexural strength and 0.046 μA cm−2 in i corr. • PP/MWCNT/CNF blends meet most of the targets set by the US DOE for bipolar plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]