Bosch to invest up to 500 mn euros to develop technology for hydrogen generation, Auto News, ET Auto
New Delhi: German multinational engineering and technology company Bosch has recently announced an investment of up to 500 million euros towards the development of electrolyzer components under its Mobility Solutions business sector by the end of the decade. Working in line with effective climate action, the company is branching out into the development of components for electrolyzers, which use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, Bosch said in a release.
"We cannot afford to delay climate action any longer, so we aim to use Bosch technology to support the rapid expansion of hydrogen production in Europe,” said Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, at the presentation of the company’s annual figures. “To do this, we will leverage our know-how in fuel-cell technology,” added Markus Heyn, member of the board of management of Bosch and chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector.
Bosch is collaborating with a number of partners to develop a way of combining the electrolyzer stack with a control unit, power electronics, and various sensors to create a “smart module”. With pilot plants scheduled to commence operation in the coming year, the company plans to supply these smart modules to manufacturers of electrolysis plants and industrial service providers from 2025 onward. Using a simple process, Bosch will incorporate a number of these compact modules.
They can then be used both in smaller units with capacity of up to ten megawatts and in gigawatt-rated onshore and offshore plants – whether in new-build projects or in existing plants for conversion to the production of green hydrogen. To maximize the efficiency of hydrogen production and extend the service life of the stack, the smart modules are to be connected to the Bosch cloud.
At the same time, the use of a modular design for the electrolyzers is expected to make maintenance more flexible: any scheduled work will require the shutdown of certain sections of the plant only, instead of the entire facility. Bosch is also working on service concepts that will include the recycling of components in order to promote a circular economy.
In light of energy diversification, the move away from fossil fuels, and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, demand for green hydrogen is growing rapidly – not only in energy-intensive industries such as steel, chemicals, and heavy-duty freight, but also in private real estate.
According to a report published by PwC, demand for green hydrogen across the GCC is expected to grow significantly in the medium term, reaching about 530 million tons by 2050. Bosch forecasts that the global market for electrolyzer components will increase to a volume of around 14 billion euros over the same period.
Gloss