The hydrogen era, as a valid and viable alternative to electromobility to aim for the goal of zero CO2 emissions, officially began today with the start of series production of the fuel cell power modules at the Bosch headquarters in Stuttgart-Feuerbach .
Before activating (together with Markus Heyn, CEO of Bosch Mobility, and Thomas Pauer, president of Powertrain) the switch that officially started the assembly lines, Stefan Hartung, president of Bosch said “Here in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, in our historic the future of hydrogen is about to be born. Bosch knows hydrogen well and is growing with hydrogen”.
The German giant of innovation and services strongly supports – at the level of all institutions and decision makers – the creation of a global hydrogen economy and is increasing investments in this sector. Between 2021 and 2026, almost 2.5 billion euros will be allocated to the development and production of proprietary hydrogen technologies, one billion euros more than foreseen in Bosch’s investment plan for the period 2021-2024.
Further perspectives for the development of the hydrogen sector – the president of Bosch underlined – depend on the political context. In particular “Europe must do much more to counterbalance the rapid pace of development of other countries, such as the United States where the sector benefits from important government support. Specifically, Hartung made three requests to German and European politicians: ” First, we need to speed up the pace of hydrogen production in the EU. Second, global supply chains need to be created. Ultimately, hydrogen must be used in all sectors of the economy”. For its solutions in this area, Bosch relies on a global production network and for the time being on the expertise and development and production capacities of its German locations But as Hartung specified, the production of the fuel cell power module will also start later in Chongqing, China and the necessary components will come from the other Bosch plant in Wuxi.The Bosch factory in Bamberg will supply the fuel cell stacks at this stage to the Feuerbach plant while the Homburg plant will provide further important system components, such as the electric air compressor and the recirculation fan.
“Bosch is one of the very few companies capable of mass-producing a complex technology such as fuel cells – said Heyn – we not only have the necessary skills, but also the ability to rapidly develop new products towards mass production” . A first important industrial phase is that involving Nikola – which today through the Evco joint venture is wholly controlled by Iveco – for the start of mass production of the fuel cell power module in the United States. Nikola will be the pilot customer of Bosch’s programs. It will do so with its Class 8 long-haul truck with a hydrogen fuel cell electric motor, which is expected to debut on the North American market in the third quarter of 2023. Bosch is also engaged in the production of hydrogen and has started the production of prototypes for electrolysis using proton exchange membranes, i.e. the reverse of the energy conversion method used in mobile fuel cells. Already in the autumn, the company will make 1.25 MW prototypes available for pilot applications and is ready to start series production in 2025. In addition to the fuel cell system, Bosch is also working on hydrogen engines, which use direct gas injection systems. This solution is particularly suitable for heavy vehicles that travel long distances with particularly heavy loads.
“A hydrogen engine can do everything a diesel engine can do, but without any emissions. This solution – Heyn declared during Tech Day 2023 – “can allow a rapid and economic entry into hydrogen mobility” with the advantage that more than 90% of the necessary development and production technologies are already available.
The hydrogen engine is expected to be launched in 2024 and will add to the fuel cell program under which Bosch has already received four orders for production projects with the goal of producing “millions of cells by 2030” each year.
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