(Stuttgart) – The technology group Bosch has started series production of its fuel cell drive system at the Stuttgart-Feuerbach site. The pilot customer is the US company Nikola with its fuel cell truck, which is scheduled to come onto the North American market in the third quarter of 2023.
Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Bosch Management Board: Production of the fuel cell drive system starts in Feuerbach, China and the USA. © Robert Bosch GmbH
The Bosch factory in Bamberg supplies the stack for Feuerbach production. System components such as the electric air compressor and the recirculation blower come from the Homburg plant. Parallel to Feuerbach, production for the fuel cell drive system is also starting in Chongqing, China - the necessary components for this come from the factory in Wuxi. Bosch also plans to produce stacks for mobile applications at its US plant in Anderson, South Carolina, says Stefan Hartung, CEO of Robert Bosch GmbH.
Markus Heyn, Bosch Managing Director and Chairman of Bosch Mobility: “The H2 engine can do everything the diesel can do, but in a CO2-neutral way.” © Robert Bosch GmbH
In addition to the fuel cell drive, Bosch is working on the hydrogen engine and is developing both an intake manifold and a direct injection system. This is particularly suitable for heavy vehicles that carry particularly heavy loads for long periods of time. “The H2 engine can do everything the diesel can do, but in a CO2-neutral way. It also enables a quick and cost-effective entry into mobile hydrogen use,” said Markus Heyn, Bosch Managing Director and Chairman of Bosch Mobility. More than 90 percent of existing development and manufacturing technologies could be used for this.
The H2 engine is scheduled to be launched on the market in 2024. In 2030, “one in five new commercial vehicles over six tons worldwide will probably be powered by a fuel cell drive,” the company predicts.
Investments of 2,5 billion euros by 2026
According to its own information, the company is active along the entire hydrogen value chain. In total, Bosch will invest almost 2021 billion euros in the development and production of its H2026 technologies from 2,5 to 2 - one billion euros more than the investment plan for the period 2021 to 2024. By 2030, Bosch wants to achieve sales of around five billion euros. The company employs more than 3 people in hydrogen technologies, more than half of them in Europe.
However, the success of the hydrogen business is linked to political conditions. In Hartung's view, Europe in particular must do much more, also "to create a counterweight to the strong dynamics in other regions of the world such as the USA": "Firstly, we have to promote H2 production in the European Union, and secondly, establish international supply chains and thirdly, use hydrogen in all sectors of the economy,” said the Bosch chairman. Ultimately, it is important that the infrastructure for hydrogen distribution is created quickly in Europe.
160 million euros in funding
Just a few days ago, the federal government promised the company funding of 160,7 million euros. Bosch wants to use this to advance the mass production of its stationary solid oxide fuel cells.
Handover of the 160 million euro funding notice for the IPCEI hydrogen project “Bosch Power Units” at the research campus in Renningen (from left): Winfried Kretschmann, Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg; Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Bosch Management Board; Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck. © Robert Bosch GmbH
Federal Economics Minister Habeck, Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, Baden-Württemberg Environment Minister Thekla Walker and Bavarian State Minister Melanie Huml handed over the funding decision for the IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) “Bosch Power Units” project at the Bosch research campus in Renningen. The federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Saarland contribute 30 percent of the amount.
Photos
From July 2023, series production of the fuel cell drive system will take place at the Bosch plant in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. © Robert Bosch GmbH
