Technology firm Bosch is to launch a new business unit to develop components for electrolysers, investing €500mn ($527mn) in the venture by 2030.

The global market for electrolyser components will expand to be worth €14bn by the same date, the company forecasts, with Europe set to see the highest growth rates.

“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 Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Bosch.

Bosch is collaborating with partners to develop a way of combining a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser stack with a control system, electronics and sensors to create a “smart module” it can sell as a whole unit.

Pilot plants testing the technology will come online this year, and the company plans to bring the product to market from 2025. The modules can be combined to form gigawatt-scale electrolysers.

€500mn – Bosch investment in electrolyser business

Bosch says the modular design will make maintenance more flexible as only certain sections of a plant would need to be shut down for work to be carried out. The company will also offer a component-recycling service.

The electrolyser unit will sit within Bosch’s mobility solutions business, where the firm already has some experience with PEM fuel cells. The business was already targeting beginning production of fuel cell stacks this year.

It is also developing small, on-site fuel cell stacks for cities, datacentres, shopping malls and business parks, and as charge spots for electric vehicles. The firm is keen to diversify this section of the business away from the automotive sector.

Economies of scale

The Bosch smart modules will be mass produced, generating economies of scale.

“Two key factors are involved in ramping up hydrogen production—speed and cost,” says Markus Heyn, chairman of the mobility solutions business sector. “This is where we can play to our strengths, thanks to our expertise in mass production and our automotive knowhow.”

Bosch also licenses technology from UK-based fuel-cell technology firm Ceres Power.

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Author: Tom Young