Hydrogen – Energy for the Future | Bosch Hydrogen Energy

Hydrogen energy system with Bosch technologies and renewable energy sources, viewed through a water drop.

Lots of challenges – one solution: Hydrogen

Hydrogen is one of the most abundant chemical elements in our universe. On earth, it takes the form of a colorless and odorless volatile gas, but when it comes to the energy systems of the future, this key element is a universal building block. Hydrogen molecules can both supply and store energy, and this potential can be harnessed to create alternative fuels for industrial processes that are unsuitable for electrification. Hydrogen can also be transformed into electrical energy in mobile and stationary fuel cells, meaning that parts of the transportation and building sectors that still depend on the combustion of fossil fuels today can be electrified. The advantage over fossil fuels is that burning hydrogen does not produce any climate-damaging carbon emissions.

Green hydrogen: What makes it green?

Green hydrogen plays an important role in decarbonization, or the phasing out of fossil fuels, even in energy-intensive industries. So how is it made?

Hydrogen chemically bound in the form of water — Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and a promising energy carrier due to its high energy density. However, on Earth, it primarily exists in chemical compounds like water. Therefore, it has to be produced industrially.

Bosch ecosystem that utilizes renewable energy sources such as wind turbines. — As with any type of industrial production, this process needs energy. Increasingly, this energy is being supplied from renewables – in the form of electricity from solar power and wind power, for example.

An electrolyzer produces green hydrogen (H₂) from water (H₂O) using renewable energy. — This electricity from renewables is used in electrolysis plants to separate ultrapure water (H₂O) into its component parts of hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂). The process produces green hydrogen – green because no environmentally harmful CO₂ emissions have been generated during its production.

In the electrolysis process, hydrogen is produced using electricity to split water (H₂O) into its components hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂). — The only emission from the electrolysis process is oxygen. Since burning pure hydrogen or converting it into electricity does not generate any climate-damaging emissions either, green hydrogen is key to a carbon-neutral, green energy system.

What colors does hydrogen come in?

There is nothing new about the idea of using hydrogen for technical purposes in industry. It has been used as a fuel and process gas for around a century. However, until now, the demand for hydrogen in industry has primarily been met using fossil raw materials such as natural gas, coal, and crude oil. Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels is typically called gray or blue hydrogen. These colors don’t represent actual hues – hydrogen itself is colorless and odorless – but indicate the production process and its environmental impact. Therefore, why is green hydrogen the primary focus? And what do the other colors mean?

Grey hydrogen

Grey hydrogen production

Grey hydrogen is predominantly produced from natural gas. The steam reforming process converts natural gas into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen is reused, while CO₂ is released into the atmosphere. Producing one ton of H₂ generates around ten tons of CO₂.¹ Today, grey hydrogen still accounts for around 95 percent of the hydrogen produced worldwide, placing a considerable strain on the atmosphere.¹

_{¹ German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK); DIHK-Faktenpapier Wasserstoff (DIHK fact paper on hydrogen), 2020, p. 6}

Blue hydrogen

It is possible to capture some of the CO2 generated when gray hydrogen is being produced (Carbon Capture and Storage, or CCS). Hydrogen produced in this way is known as blue hydrogen.

Blue hydrogen production

It is possible to capture some of the CO₂ generated during the production of grey hydrogen (through a process called Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS). However, this captured greenhouse gas requires substantial further processing – pumping it into underground storage facilities, for instance. Hydrogen produced in this way is known as blue hydrogen.

Turquoise hydrogen

Turquoise hydrogen production

An alternative production method is the pyrolysis of methane, which is the main component of natural gas. This involves breaking down methane into hydrogen gas and solid carbon at high temperatures, a process that does not generate any CO₂. Solid carbon granules can be used in industry or disposed of. Hydrogen produced like this is referred to as turquoise hydrogen.

Green hydrogen

Green hydrogen production

Today, the industrial production of hydrogen is largely based on fossil fuels. Green hydrogen therefore plays a critical role in efforts to achieve a sustainable hydrogen economy. This type of hydrogen does not rely on any fossil fuels and can be produced on a largely climate-neutral basis. The use of renewable energies during hydrogen production in electrolysis plants results in a universally usable energy source that generates absolutely minimal carbon emissions.

What are the key technologies of the hydrogen economy?

The hydrogen value chain stretches from hydrogen production and storage to transportation and use of hydrogen. The key technologies of the hydrogen economy are very closely tied in with it.

Producing hydrogen

The infrastructure for a low-carbon hydrogen economy is being built at a rapid pace all around the world. Bosch offers a broad portfolio of hydrogen technologies.

Bosch Manufacturing Solutions, for example, offers water purification systems that can be used to produce the ultrapure water required for electrolysis. These systems use thermal and electrochemical processes to remove impurities such as salts or metals from the water.

When it comes to the electrolysis process itself, the Hybrion PEM electrolysis stack by Bosch is the core element in plants that produce hydrogen. The customer requirements for electrolysis plants are many and varied. At one end of the scale is decentralized hydrogen production operated by industrial companies to meet their own needs or for producing fuels. At the opposite end are large-scale systems for energy-intensive industrial sectors or for companies with high hydrogen demand for export to remote regions.

The system benefit of the Hybrion stacks is that it can meet all these needs. The number of stacks in an electrolysis plant can be scaled up as required, for any size of plant, whether a local system to cover in-house requirements or a large industrial-scale installation with an output of several hundred megawatts.

Find out more about Bosch PEM electrolysis technology

Storing and transporting hydrogen

If it is not being used directly where it is produced, hydrogen can be stored and transported. Before that happens, it is usually compressed. Bosch is also developing leading technologies for the storage and distribution of hydrogen. These solutions are a key part of hydrogen fueling stations and industrial systems and are important when it comes to setting up a hydrogen infrastructure.

Explore Bosch Rexroth's solutions for setting up a hydrogen infrastructure

Using hydrogen

Renewable hydrogen holds the most value for industry — particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and chemicals, where it can drive deep decarbonization.

Hydrogen is also becoming a literal driving force in the transportation sector, for instance when it comes to moving goods by road or powering rail vehicles on non-electrified routes. Bosch is also actively using hydrogen in mobile fuel cells and hydrogen engines replacing diesel engines that have been in common use for trucks until now. Since 2023, Bosch has had complete fuel cell power modules in series production as highly integrated, compact system solutions for fuel-cell powered commercial vehicles that carry heavy loads by road.

Together with FirstElement Fuel, the U.S. market leader for the commercial operation of liquid hydrogen filling stations, Bosch Rexroth has achieved an important technology milestone for refueling infrastructure. CryoPump stations cut operating costs by up to 70 percent, bringing them down to an economical level, while shortening refueling processes for heavy trucks to less than ten minutes.

Find out more about fuel cell-electric drive

Learn more about the CryoPump Station

Shaping the future with hydrogen

Green hydrogen plays a crucial role in decarbonization and a sustainable energy transition, including the phase-out of fossil fuels. It can supply even energy-intensive industries with climate-friendly energy. At the same time, hydrogen is also an important medium for storing and transporting renewable energy.