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Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Robert Habeck has cleared the way for the IPCEI hydrogen project of Robert Bosch GmbH. With the commitment from Berlin, the funding is now officially confirmed. In the presence of Dr. Robert Habeck and Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann, the grant was awarded to Bosch’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stefan Hartung on July 10, 2023 at the Bosch Research Campus in Renningen, Germany.

As part of the IPCEI Hydrogen Program of the European Union (Important Projects of Common European Interest, IPCEI), the German Federal Government and the German Federal States of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Saarland are funding the "Bosch Power Units" project. The aim of the funding project is to ensure the mass production and series ramp-up of the decentralized fuel cell based on solid oxide technology up to the start of series production. The project of Robert Bosch GmbH is one of the first projects in Germany to receive this funding.

Hermann Josef Hospital (HJK) in Erkelenz is hosting a showcase project for the climate-friendly energy supply of the future. Robert Bosch GmbH and Hydrogenious LOHC NRW GmbH are working at HJK to demonstrate the coupling of new hydrogen technologies on an economically relevant scale for the first time. This project is designed to drive forward the energy transition. It is one of several major research projects in the Rhenish mining area in western Germany expected to help make a success of structural change. The Helmholtz Hydrogen Cluster (HC-H2), based at Forschungszentrum Jülich, is coordinating this demonstration project.

To integrate the Bosch SOFC into holistic data center solutions, Bosch initiated a pilot project with HUB Security, which specializes in cyber security, secure IT hardware and secure data center solutions. “We see a grid-independent, scalable, and hydrogen-focused primary power supply as a suitable complement to our edge data center solutions”, says Sem Koeksal, Executive Vice President at HUB Security. The objective of the pilot starting in early 2023: develop a blueprint of an SOFC in modules that can be rolled out as a primary power supply to data centers around the world.

Bosch is throwing its weight behind the push to establish a hydrogen economy: “On the path to a climate-neutral future, we have to make it possible for energy-intensive industries to shift to renewables. Hydrogen will be a key element in security of supply,” says Rolf Najork, the Bosch management board member responsible for industrial technology and the company’s manufacturing technology chief. Bosch can offer the technology needed for hydrogen use in various sectors. The company is developing fuel cells for mobile and stationary applications, equipping hydrogen filling stations with compressors, and producing hydrogen in its own plants. In addition, Bosch plans to enter the electrolyzer components business. “We are getting hydrogen-based technologies out of the laboratory and into industrial practice – onto the roads and into factories,” Najork says.

At the Bosch plant in Homburg, one component of the SOFC system, the so-called hotbox, is produced. In addition, a fuel cell system is now used in a sector-coupled hydrogen cycle to produce electricity and heat.

When it comes to green hydrogen, Bosch is stepping on the gas: in the interest of effective climate action, the company is planning not only to use this new fuel, but also to be one of the companies producing it. This is why Bosch is branching out into the development of components for electrolyzers, which use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Ideally, the electricity for this purpose is generated from renewable sources such as wind or photovoltaic power, in which case the result is known as “green hydrogen”. “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,” says Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH.

Global demand for electricity continues to grow unabated. At the same time, humanity is facing a mammoth challenge in the shape of climate change. What is urgently required, therefore, are technologies for tomorrow that are compatible with today’s industrial landscape. In a pilot project, Deutsche Telekom is now trialing two stationary solid oxide fuel-cell (SOFC) systems from Bosch. These can be used to generate — efficiently, sustainably and in a decentralized way — the electricity required to power, for example, the operating centers for network systems.

Dr. Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH, welcomed Dr. Robert Habeck, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, to the Bosch plant in Bamberg on Wednesday. With 6,500 associates, this is one of the most prominent employers in the region.

Hartung gave the Minister a tour of the plant, which can trace its history back to 1939 and is one of the largest manufacturing sites for drive technology in the Bosch Group. For the Bamberg site, the industrialization of high-temperature fuel cells (solid oxide fuel cells = SOFC) represents an important prospect for the future. While he was on site, Habeck found out more about the progress of SOFC industrialization. As he explained: “If we are to achieve net zero, then business, politics, innovations and the promotion of these must all go hand in hand. With its investments here in Bamberg, Bosch is playing its part in ensuring this transformation of industry is successful and is future-proofing its future for the region.”

Click here for the press release about the visit from the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action