Simultaneous Engineering in Electrolysis Stack Industrialization

Green hydrogen is considered a key element in decarbonization – not only as a fuel in industrial processes, but also as a potent basis to store renewable energy. Consequently, we will require thousands and thousands of electrolysis cells, and this need is imminent. Christian, Senior Manager in Industrialization at Bosch, reveals the challenges of electrolysis stack manufacturing and how simultaneous engineering helps streamlining typical workflows.

-253°C | The Bosch Hydrogen Expert Talk #5: Let’s stack togetH₂er

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In this episode, Christian explains how to save time in developing the products needed to achieve the forecasted rapid scaling of the hydrogen economy.

The fifth episode in short

Developing and industrializing complex devices like PEM electrolysis stacks typically takes years. To significantly shorten this timeframe while ensuring performance, longevity, and high safety standards, Bosch employs simultaneous engineering – a specific product development approach.

As Christian explains, simultaneous engineering means cross-functional teams working collaboratively to optimize product development and manufacturing at the same time. This allows Bosch to efficiently scale up the manufacturing of Hybrion PEM electrolysis stacks.

What is simultaneous engineering?

Cross-functional teams in a simultaneous engineering project

Simultaneous engineering involves collaborative work in cross-functional teams. This approach leads to an improved product in a reduced timeframe.

Simultaneous engineering goes beyond methodology – it’s a mindset. By involving all key stakeholders from the start, organizations can innovate faster and stay ahead in dynamic markets.

Steps that were once sequential now run in parallel

Simultaneous engineering integrates disciplines such as requirements engineering, concept validation, product design, production planning and testing in parallel. Unlike sequential processes, these steps are not carried out one after the other, but simultaneously. This means, for example, that manufacturing processes are already taken into account during the design phase.

This parallel approach accelerates development and industrialization times and reduces costs through early problem detection.

Changes in manufacturing of electrolysis stacks by 2050

By 2050, Christian envisions continuous advancements in Hybrion PEM electrolysis stack manufacturing, driven by:

Our processes are designed to scale up the manufacturing of the Hybrion PEM electrolysis stacks. We design processes and facilities that can adapt to changing market needs.
Christian Hymon, Senior Manager Industrialization