Bosch ramps up hydrogen-fuel-cell production

Bosch says it has begun volume production of its fuel-cell power module for heavy trucks, with Nikola serving as pilot customer with its North American hydrogen-fuel-cell-electric Class 8 truck.

“Bosch knows its way around hydrogen, and Bosch is growing with hydrogen. The company operates along the entire hydrogen value chain, developing technology for its production and application. By 2030, Bosch plans to generate sales of roughly 5 billion Euros with hydrogen technology,” Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, announced this week at Bosch Tech Day 2023.

“Bosch is one of the very few companies that are capable of mass producing technology as complex as fuel-cell stacks. We don’t just have the required systems expertise, but also the capability of quickly scaling up new developments to mass production,” added Markus Heyn, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of Bosch Mobility.

Production of the fuel-cell modules is beginning in Feuerbach, Germany and in Chongqing, China. Bosch also plans to produce the technology in North America at a plant in Anderson, S.C. It projects that globally, by 2030 one in five new trucks weighing six tons or more will have a fuel-cell powertrain.

The company is also planning to produce hydrogen, and early this year began building prototypes for electrolysis using proton exchange membranes. It plans to make 1.25-megawatt prototypes available for pilot testing later this year, with volume production scheduled for 2025.

It is also working on a hydrogen engine suited for heavy loads and long hauls.