(Stuttgart) – Bosch wants to recover platinum from fuel cells. The precious metal acts as a catalyst and accelerates the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. According to the company, 95 percent of platinum can be recycled after its stacks have expired.
This would make them more economical, says Thomas Pauer, chairman of the Bosch Powertrain Solutions division. We are also creating “plannable, stable supply chains and better resource availability,” says Thomas Wintrich, head of the mobile fuel cell product area at Bosch: “We are significantly reducing the CO2 emissions of stacks with recycled platinum, as the carbon dioxide emissions that arise when the metal is mined are eliminated. According to company estimates, “relevant quantities of fuel cells would have to be recycled by 2030 at the latest.”
Plan recycling ahead
The focus is not just on the end of the product life cycle: in the future, the lifespan and functionality of components in fuel cells and electrolysis stacks will be monitored during operation using digital twins. “This allows maintenance, repairs and recycling to be planned in advance.”
Bosch has signed a contract with the mobility provider Hylane that regulates the possible repurchase of stacks. The start-up from Cologne rents out hydrogen trucks with, among other things, fuel cell drive systems from Bosch. The company explains that in the long term, the contract model could serve as a blueprint for further fuel cell activities in the mobile and decentralized sectors as well as for electrolysis stacks.
Bosch uses recovered platinum in the subsequent production process for new Hylane stacks. In mobile applications, the use of platinum alone accounts for over 80 percent of the products' carbon footprint. The stacks would be recycled by a third party.
Photos
Bosch is developing and testing new stacks in Feuerbach near Stuttgart. The company has developed a process that enables the most extensive recovery of raw materials such as platinum. © Robert Bosch GmbH
