Foresight and technology — Bosch and the hydrogen economy
With the Bosch PEM electrolysis stack and the SOFC system, we are offering the technology for the generation and energetic use of green hydrogen.
One thing is clear: Achieving the global climate targets must be the focus of our actions. At the same time, global energy demands are continuing to grow, along with our determination to play a meaningful role in the solution for a carbon-neutral energy supply. How? The fuel of the energy world of tomorrow and beyond is green hydrogen.
Bosch is both a part and a driver of the emerging comprehensive hydrogen economy. Its value chain starts with electrolysis, i.e. the generation of hydrogen. With the PEM electrolysis stacks, we are developing industrially manufactured, efficient, and scalable components for the production of hydrogen using power from renewable energy sources.
The decentralized generation of electricity and heat is done with the help of our energy-efficient solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The SOFC systems are incredibly versatile, as they can use both renewable fuels (hydrogen from wind or sun) and conventional fuels (biomethane or natural gas) to generate electricity and heat. In a period when the global energy markets are changing faster than ever before, this makes our fuel-flexible energy converters a perfect solution.
The energy markets at the end of the decade
The market for decentralized energy production is expected to reach an estimated volume of € 20 billion by 2030. Sustainability has been primarily associated with climate protection for some time – but now the role of supply security is also growing. At the same time, in the course of decarbonization, the demand for green hydrogen is rapidly rising – not only in energy-intensive sectors such as the steel and chemical industry or heavy-duty transport, but also in private buildings – according to EU estimates, to roughly ten million tons per year by 2030. To enable the economy and society to become independent of fossil fuels and harness new energy sources, Bosch wants to invest a total of about three billion euros in climate-neutral technologies, such as electrification and hydrogen, over the next three years.
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.
Targeted advances in technologies for green energy
The goal to sustainably convert our energy systems is rooted in the European Green Deal and the Paris Climate Agreement, and it’s being implemented in national and regional hydrogen strategies on the federal and state levels, among other initiatives. With our SOFC and fuel cell-related technologies and our participation in publicly funded projects, we’re making a substantial contribution to the energy transformation.
Bosch’s participation in publicly funded projects
Publicly funded project ‘Bosch Power Units – First industrial deployment of stationary fuel cell systems based on SOFC’
Funding of the solid oxide fuel cell ("Bosch Power Units" project) under the IPCEI Hydrogen Program of the European Union (Important Projects of Common European Interest, IPCEI). Funding bodies: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, State of Baden-Württemberg, Free State of Bavaria, State of Saarland, European Union.
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Project funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the hydrogen demonstration project “Multi-SOFC” of the Helmholtz-Cluster Hydrogen -
Bosch SOFC system as a project in the German federal government’s 7th Energy Research Program -
Bosch SOFC system as a project in the Bavarian Energy Research Program -
Project funding from the German state of Lower Saxony for the Bosch SOFC system -
Bosch SOFC system as part of the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance project pipeline
