The technology company Bosch wants to become a major player in the future hydrogen market and is pushing politicians in Europe to promote more climate-friendly technology. With investments of 2.5 billion euros in the period from 2021 to 2026, the foundation group from Stuttgart is using several levers: the fuel cell drive for trucks, the series production of which started on Thursday, a hydrogen engine announced for 2024, the stationary fuel cell for energy generation and hydrogen production with electrolysers. “Bosch is serious about entering the hydrogen economy,” said Markus Heyn (59), head of Bosch’s automotive supplier division Mobility, at a technology day in Stuttgart.
CEO Stefan Hartung (57) warned politicians in Europe with a note to high subsidies in the USA to more state funding for research and development as well as for building up the infrastructure. “Regardless of whether in Europe or the USA, the state is required to solve the chicken-egg problem between infrastructure and market development.” Europe still has a technological advantage when it comes to hydrogen. But in Asia, the market is developing “breathtakingly” fast, so that more speed is needed to maintain the lead, stressed Heyn.
During his summer trip this week, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (53, SPD) gave Bosch a grant of a good 160 million euros for the production of stationary fuel cell systems. Germany has been one of the first countries to pursue a hydrogen strategy since 2020, which is now being updated. According to the draft available to Reuters, the federal government’s plan envisages the construction of a pipeline network by 2030.
Fuel cell drive for long-distance trucks
According to the world’s largest automotive supplier for long-distance trucks, the fuel cell drive is the better option compared to the battery. This strategy is also pursued by the heavy-duty world market leaders Daimler trucks along with Swedish competitor Volvo while the Volkswagen-Daughter Traton relies exclusively on the more energy-efficient battery.
Production of the drive systems for the pilot customer Nikola, a manufacturer of emission-free trucks from the USA, began at the Bosch location in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. It is uncertain whether this will be able to establish itself on the market. According to analysts, the company is struggling with financing problems. At the same time, Bosch also runs in China the production of such drives at the Chongqing plant. There are also production plans for the USA. A few thousand units can be expected in the first few years, and then hopefully tens of thousands, said Heyn.
Hydrogen-based combustion engine from 2024
In the commercial vehicle industry, some see a hydrogen-based combustion engine as an alternative – and now Bosch too. Hydrogen (H2) is burned instead of being used to generate electricity, with hardly any nitrogen oxide emissions being produced. Heyn explained that an H2 engine enables a quick, cost-effective entry into a CO2-neutral drive, since existing production technology can be used. The H2 engine is scheduled to hit the market next year. It is suitable for heavy vehicles in agriculture and forestry, for which a battery is simply too heavy.
“Bosch is growing with hydrogen,” explained Hartung. For 2030, the foundation group has set itself a turnover of five billion euros with the climate-friendly technology. Then every fifth new commercial vehicle from six tons worldwide will be on the road with hydrogen for the fuel cell drive, predicted the world’s largest automotive supplier. The hydrogen business also offers employment opportunities. At Bosch, tens of thousands of jobs are still dependent on the internal combustion engine, which will disappear in the long term. Locations and workplaces are gradually being converted to alternative drives or software products. The majority of the more than 3,000 employees in hydrogen technology worldwide used to work with fossil drive technology. “How big the chances of hydrogen are in Germany in the long term depends on the political framework,” said Hartung.
Hydrogen is considered the energy carrier of the future. When using so-called green hydrogen, which is generated with green electricity, no greenhouse gases are produced. However, to produce it, water has to be split into hydrogen and oxygen, which requires a great deal of energy.