Top Stories
Bosch ups investment in hydrogen, begins fuel-cell power module production
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
BERLIN (Reuters) – German auto supplier Bosch will invest almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in hydrogen fuel cell technology from 2021 to 2026 and expects to generate roughly 5 billion in sales from it by 2030, the company said on Thursday.
BERLIN (Reuters) – German auto supplier Bosch will invest almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in hydrogen fuel cell technology from 2021 to 2026 and expects to generate roughly 5 billion in sales from it by 2030, the company said on Thursday.
The planned investment was one billion euros more than earmarked in its previous investment plan for 2021-2024, the statement added.
Vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells, in which hydrogen mixes with oxygen to produce water and energy to power a battery, can refuel in minutes and have a much longer range than battery-electric vehicles, but infrastructure is lacking and it is less energy-efficient.
Bosch expects one in five new trucks weighing six metric tons or more would feature fuel-cell powertrains by 2030, it said.
“Bosch is growing with hydrogen,” Chief Executive Stefan Hartung said.
Bosch said production of its fuel cell power module – a fuel cell system generating electricity in vehicles from hydrogen, primarily used in commercial long-distance applications – has begun in its Stuttgart-Feuerbach plant in Germany and in Chongqing, China.
Nikola Corporation will be the pilot customer of the modules made in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, with the Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric truck to enter the North American market in the third quarter of 2023.
Daimler Truck plans to bring a hydrogen truck to market in the second half of the decade, forming a joint venture with Volvo to develop the zero-emissions technology.
Automaker Stellantis said this year it would begin deliveries in Europe of its first medium-sized vans powered by hydrogen fuel cells by the end of 2021.
By contrast, Volkswagen subsidiary Traton is focusing exclusively on battery-electric development.
($1 = 0.8993 euros)
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Ilona Wissenbach; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Hydrogen fuel cell technology uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, emitting only water as a byproduct. It is considered a clean energy source for vehicles.
Fuel-cell powertrains are systems that use hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity for powering vehicles, offering advantages like quick refueling and longer ranges compared to battery-electric vehicles.
Bosch's investment aims to enhance hydrogen fuel cell technology, anticipating significant sales growth and contributing to sustainable transportation solutions by 2030.
Explore more articles in the Top Stories category
