Aluminium alloy 6061 (AA6061) is coated with Ni-P and Ni-Mo-P using electroless and electroplating techniques. Coated substrates were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Potentiodynamic polarization technique is applied to investigate the corrosion resistance characteristics of coated AA6061 in (0.5 M H2SO4 + 2 ppm HF) solution. Coating AA6061 with Ni P and Ni-Mo-P shifts its corrosion potential towards more positive values and lowers the corresponding current density values. The stability of prepared coatings under simulated cathode condition in PEM fuel cells is tested in air-saturated solution at +160 mV versus (mercury/mercury sulphate electrode (MMS)) for 5 h. After 40 min from starting the polarization test, Ni-P coating is found to be more stable than Ni-Mo-P. Ni P and Ni-Mo-P coated AA6061 show a lowered ICR value at a compaction force of 140 N cm(-2) by 2.22 and 1.88 times, respectively when compared to bare aluminium alloy. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.