BOSCH HIGH on HYDROGEN

The supplier is committed to all facets of the H₂ economy as volume production of its power module kicks off for Nikola's Class 8 fuel-cell truck.

At its oldest and largest location - a site long accustomed to manufacturing parts for combustion engines - Bosch is now producing what it calls the most complex system it has ever developed: a fuel-cell power module (FCPM). Production at the Stuttgart-Feuerbach site in Germany officially kicked off in July during a Bosch Tech Day event attended by global media. The pilot customer for the FCPMs is Nikola with its Tre hydrogen fuel-cell electric truck, which is expected to launch in North America in the third quarter of 2023.

Bosch is committed to all facets of the hydrogen value chain, from developing an electrolysis stack and components for electrolyzers for H₂ production, to engineering a drive solution for hydrogen compressors in filling stations. The supplier plans to invest nearly $2.6 billion between 2021 to 2026 in the development and manufacturing of hydrogen technologies - with nearly two-thirds of that amount devoted to the fuel-cell powertrain, Dr. Markus Heyn, chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector, said during the Tech Day presentation.