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How Innovators Shape Our World – and Markets

At a time when the question of a climate-neutral, sustainable energy economy is more pressing than ever, thinkers and inventors are needed. People who go through the world full of drive and new ideas. One of these optimists is Arjen Brandsma. In 2019, Arjen received a report from a colleague, stating that the Netherlands is well equipped to become frontrunner in the hydrogen economy. Arjen wondered: Why was there no mass manufacturer for electrolysis stacks yet? A great potential for Bosch, he thought. Looking back, this was the beginning of Bosch’s development of Hybrion PEM electrolysis stacks.

Arjen's Story

Arjen Brandsma, Technology Expert, Bosch Thin Metal Technologies
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An innovator's idea – a team's success

Arjen at his worklplace, holding a prototype of an electrolysis stack
Arjen at his worklplace, holding a prototype of an electrolysis stack

Arjen is a technology expert at Bosch Tilburg, Netherlands, who initiates new product developments. When asked about his job, Arjen explains that innovating is like starting with a blank sheet. It is never this one eureka moment which leads to a great innovation. Rather, innovating means daring to take risks and building upon mistakes. The most important thing, Arjen emphasizes, is “to have a team of experts who will go on the journey together”. It takes a multidisciplinary team of experts to go from an idea to a high-tech product such as an electrolysis stack.

Half of the people will say: oh, that‘s a good idea! And the other half will say: you‘re completely crazy.

Arjen Brandsma, Technology Expert, Bosch Thin Metal Technologies

First steps on the road to electrolysis stack innovation

It is not easy to come up with an idea that people believe in, but what follows doesn’t get any easier. Without a structured approach, even the most promising ideas can become unclear in their implementation or fail to align with an organization's strategic objectives and goals. In Bosch’s Innovation Framework clear steps are defined. Every step is completed by an innovation milestone. At each milestone, the team and management work together to ensure that the product meets all the necessary criteria to advance to the stage of maturity. All aspects essential for a successful business, such as market demand, product performance, manufacturability, and business viability, are carefully evaluated.

Working in a multidisciplinary team of experts
Working in a multidisciplinary team of experts
Arjen Brandsma at his computer with a report open, working on the initial innovation steps for developing a Bosch electrolyzer.
It started with a report – and became a project with great potential

Arjen’s contribution to the development of the electrolysis stack focused on the first innovation steps in the Innovation Framework.
Since hydrogen production was a new business area for Bosch, special attention had to be paid to identifying market opportunities and customer needs. In addition, the technical feasibility for a completely new product had to be assessed . This is where prototypes come into play.

A prototype can make the difference

“A prototype is the heartbeat of a project,” Arjen clarifies. It is something tangible and 'real' on the path to realization. Prototypes provide clear focus to the team and therefore increase the speed of the project.
Over the past six years, the team has built many prototypes, each with a different objective. The first prototypes were thin metal sheets, so-called bipolar plates, designed to demonstrate the manufacturing capability for this core component.

Bipolar plate prototypes
Bipolar plate prototypes
Prototype electrolysis stack with 100 cells
Prototype electrolysis stack with 100 cells

The next step was to actually build a small, functioning electrolyzer to demonstrate the design capabilities and product understanding. Through the process of building this electrolyzer, the team discovered its operating principles.

Later, during the concept validation phase, stacks with up to 100 cells were designed to prove competitive functional performance and manufacturability in mass production. With this proven concept in hand, new designs and prototypes were created in collaboration with partners both inside and outside of Bosch to further scale and improve the electrolysis stack.

150 kW prototype electrolysis stack at testbench
150 kW prototype electrolysis stack at testbench

Sometimes you get the chance to really change the industry. With green technology solutions like the electrolysis stack for example.

Arjen Brandsma, Technology Expert, Bosch Thin Metal Technologies

One idea. Big impact. The Hybrion PEM Electrolysis Stack today.

The Hybrion PEM electrolysis stack started as an idea and has developed into a very important project with great potential for the future of low-carbon technology and for Bosch itself. Arjen Brandsma is no longer part of the project, but a lot of his colleagues are. Several Bosch locations are teaming up to enable mass production of Hybrion stacks. In Tilburg, approximately 70 people are working on the topic today, including Piotr Krzywda. He, for example, is steadily working on maximizing the lifetime and reliability of the stacks. A crucial job for the design of the second generation, which is already in progress. At the same time, Tilburg is investigating new stack concepts in collaboration with Bosch Corporate Research in Renningen, Germany. Proven concepts are handed over to the development center in Linz, Austria where the complete stack design is realized. All these efforts are aimed at eventually being manufactured in Bamberg, Germany. The production of the 1.25 MW Hybrion PEM electrolysis stack has recently started there in 2025.

Test bench for single electrolysis cells
Test bench for single electrolysis cells: Tests are performed on small size cells to determine lifetime, failure modes and functional performance. All components of the cell, such as the membrane, gas diffusion layer, and porous transport layer, can be validated. Larger test benches for full size cells and complete electrolysis stacks are also applied in Tilburg and Linz.
Preparing precise composition of electrolytes for ex-situ corrosion testing
Preparing precise composition of electrolytes for ex-situ corrosion testing: These tests are essential for selecting best-performing materials and coatings for bipolar plates as well as for porous transport layers (PTLs) and gas diffusion layers (GDLs) of the electrolysis stacks.
Analysis of electrolysis stack components, such as porous transport layers (PTLs)
Analysis of electrolysis stack components, such as porous transport layers (PTLs): Using ion beam techniques, microscopically small 3D samples can be extracted from components and analyzed with a scanning electron microscope for high-resolution imaging at the nanometer scale. These analyses are used, among other things, to assess the adhesion of coatings on the surface of the PTL.
Material experiment with an Erichsen deep-drawing test set-up
Material experiment with an Erichsen deep-drawing test set-up: During this test, a spherical punch is pressed into a clamped metal sheet until a crack forms. Through this material deformation, the behavior of thin metal sheets can be assessed. The resulting data is used, among other applications, to create a material model that serves as input for simulating the forming process of bipolar plates. 
Manufacturing press for blanking and forming metal sheets
Manufacturing press for blanking and forming metal sheets: Using this and other presses, thin metal products such as bipolar plates for electrolyzers, are manufactured for prototype and mass production.
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Taking a step towards becoming a pioneer in climate action

Bosch already offers a range of products powered by hydrogen, for example the hydrogen engine or the fuel cell power module. With the market entry of Hybrion PEM electrolysis stacks, Bosch further expands its contribution to a green hydrogen economy as an important step towards reducing CO₂ and stopping climate change. Acting in an environmentally responsible manner is one part of Boschs‘ mission of improving people’s quality of life and safeguard the livelihoods of present and future generations.