Bosch drives carbon neutral factories and mobility with hydrogen plans

Using renewable energy, an electrolyzer produces green hydrogen. This hydrogen will then be used for manufacturing operations and mobility, with fuel-cell vehicles refueling with the hydrogen that Bosch technology has already compressed.

For industrial processes, a stationary fuel cell developed by Bosch converts hydrogen into heat and electricity. Energy flows in the plant are controlled in line with demand, using Bosch Industry 4.0 software.

The Energy Platform is already being used in more than 120 of the company’s plants.

A solution developed by Bosch Rexroth and Maximator Hydrogen for compressing hydrogen for filling stations, storage tanks, and pipelines is also to be trialed at the Homburg plant.

By 2030, they want to make this technology available to 4,000 hydrogen filling stations. One in three hydrogen filling stations worldwide would then be equipped with Bosch components.

For hydrogen compressors, Bosch Rexroth supplies low maintenance, scalable systems solutions with electrohydraulic drives, power electronics, and automatic seal changes. The company’s portfolio currently includes drive units from 75 to 250 kilowatts.

This gives filling-station operators a low-cost option when venturing into hydrogen technology, as well as the chance to adapt the solutions to their needs.

Compared with the alternatives available in the market, the new, container-based compressors have the potential to reduce operators’ total costs of ownership by one-half.

Energy demand is growing. One of the challenges here is the fluctuating availability of renewable energy. This is where stationary solid-oxide fuel cells can help. Distributed micro-power plants are used flexibly where the energy is actually consumed, which makes them ideal for efficiently generating power for industry.

In the Homburg plant, a fuel-cell system is now to be used in a sector-coupled hydrogen cycle. At the Telekom subsidiary Power & Air Solutions, Bosch fuel-cell technology is being used for the first time to power a data center.

Together with the Chinese automaker Weichai and its technology partner Ceres Power, Bosch is planning to launch solid-oxide fuel cells on the Chinese market.

All told, more than 50 stationary Bosch fuel cells are now in operation at the company’s and its customers’ locations. Each of these systems is connected with the internet of things.

Over the fuel cells’ entire lifecycle, data is fed into the cloud. This gives rise to digital twins that allow individual systems to be monitored in real time. Bosch plans to start production of stationary fuel cells in 2024.

In the future, Bosch intends to supply not only the technology for compressing hydrogen and converting it into electricity with the help of fuel cells, but also to be involved in the production of hydrogen.

The company is now planning to start developing components for electrolyzers. These units use electricity to cause a chemical reaction that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Provided the electricity comes from renewables, the end product is green hydrogen.

By the end of the decade, Bosch aims to invest up to 500 million euros into the volume production and marketing of the core component of hydrogen electrolysis: the stack.

In addition, Bosch has set up a unit that initiates and develops green hydrogen projects and brings together various stakeholders. One of the projects unit’s first hydrogen projects is H2Giga.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the project aims to design powerful, durable, and scalable electrolyzers – including digital twins that simulate process steps in production, set-up, and maintenance.