The automotive market has seen a significant increase in demand for climate-neutral technologies in recent years. To support sustainable and carbon-neutral transport, Bosch offers a wide range of powertrain solutions. Bosch predicts that by 2035, half of all new commercial vehicles will be electric powered by batteries or hydrogen. “Powertrain electrification will be a major growth area for Bosch’s business over the next decade. To this end, Bosch is accelerating the development of hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen energy and electric mobility technologies, “said Dr. Stefan Hartong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bosch Group.” Bosch will further strengthen the layout and development of new energy-related products in China, and is committed to providing local customers with advanced and competitive new energy vehicle technologies.”

Active layout to promote the localization of hydrogen fuel cell products

Hydrogen energy will play an important role in the process of green and low-carbon transformation of China’s industry, and hydrogen energy industry is a strategic emerging industry and a key development direction of future industries. According to the “Energy saving and new energy vehicle Technology Roadmap 2.0” issued by the China Society of Automotive Engineering, the goal is to reach about 1 million fuel cell units by 2035.

To seize market opportunities in industrial upgrading and transformation, Bosch’s first hydrogen fuel cell center in China has been put into operation in Wuxi in early 2021. Up to now, the center has gradually realized the localized development, production and customer delivery of core components including hydrogen fuel cell stacks, electronic air compressors, hydrogen injection valve assemblies, hydrogen circulation pumps, etc. Taking the stack as an example, Bosch is gradually achieving a comprehensive transformation from the earliest product import and assembly to the localization of key components such as membrane electrodes and bipolar plates. As the “heart” of the reactor, the membrane electrode is the core of the electrochemical reaction. The bipolar plate is responsible for distributing the reaction gas, conducting heat and supporting the membrane electrode in the stack. Both of them are important components of the reactor, and their technical indicators and industrialization requirements are very high. In order to further serve the Chinese market and respond to local customer needs faster, Bosch’s first high-yield membrane electrode production line in the world was officially put into use in Wuxi at the beginning of this year. In addition, the construction of the production line of the bipolar plate is also being actively prepared and is expected to be officially put into operation in 2025.

Continuous innovation to meet the growing demand for electrification of commercial vehicles

China is the world’s largest market for new energy vehicles. According to the latest data of the Joint Association of New energy Commercial Vehicle Market Information, the sales volume of new energy commercial vehicles in 2022 was 338,000, an increase of 78.9%. In order to meet the growing demand for electrification in China’s commercial vehicle market, Bosch is committed to providing innovative electric drive system solutions and has achieved many successful practices. In 2022, Bosch’s flat wire motor and all-in-one electronic power module products, with their advantages of high torque, high efficiency, lightweight, high reliability and high safety, We helped customers win the “All-around Grand Slam” of five awards including the Best Energy Saving Ability Award, the best Power Performance Award and the best braking performance Award in the “NEVC2022 7th China New Energy Logistics Vehicle Challenge”.

This year, Bosch’s flat wire motors and all-in-one electronic power modules for light electric vehicles will be mass-produced in June, and further medium – and heavy-duty motors and controllers are planned for 2024. Bosch will also continue to explore innovation in more areas, and is committed to developing competitive electric products that meet the needs of the local market.

Rooted in Wuxi, support the green and low-carbon development of China’s automotive industry

“We sincerely welcome Bosch Group to bring more world-leading new energy technology products to Wuxi, strengthen the development of innovative products, explore the application of scenarios in emerging fields, and empower the development of Wuxi’s new energy industry with advanced technologies and concepts.” Said Du Xiaogang, party secretary of Wuxi.