Bosch has announced plans to discontinue work on industrialising power supply systems based on solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), as part of a realignment of operations and investments in hydrogen technologies.
The decision relates to stationary technologies and it includes an end to Bosch’s partnership with fuel cell company Ceres and divestment of Bosch’s 17.44% holding in Ceres. Uwe Glock, the Bosch representative non-executive director on the Ceres Board, is stepping down with immediate effect.
Bosch said it, “remains highly committed to mobile applications of hydrogen in fuel cells and hydrogen engines”. But in future it will focus its hydrogen efforts on technologies for production and the supply of electrolysis components, above all PEM (proton-exchange membrane) electrolysis stacks. Dr Thomas Pauer, president of Bosch Power Solutions, was quoted as saying, “We see hydrogen as an important source of energy for decarbonising the energy system,” but for Bosch “huge business opportunities” were in large numbers of electrolysis plants with high-performance stacks set up worldwide.
Bosch highlighted a decade of work with partners to develop solid-oxide fuel-cell technology for decentralised power-supply systems and more than 100 pilot systems. However, it said the market has not developed as expected and that further engineering effort will be required in the years ahead, significantly reducing commercial viability. It added that work to explore the possibilities of solid-oxide technology will continue within the company’s corporate research unit.
In December Bosch told FCZ that, “Hydrogen mobility is an important addition to pure electromobility. In the commercial-vehicle segment in particular, we need a combination of batteries, fuel cells, and H2 engines to cover the wide range of different customer needs and transportation requirements.”
The company began volume production of fuel cell stacks at the end of 2022 and production of the fuel cell power module in Feuerbach began in mid-2023. The company said it had already received its first orders from truck manufacturers in Europe, the US, and China but added, “However, other than in China, the market for vehicles powered by fuel cells is growing more slowly than previously anticipated.”
Phil Caldwell, Ceres chief executive, said, “Whilst Ceres is disappointed that Bosch will discontinue its operations relating to the industrialisation and preparation for production of decentralised power-supply systems using Ceres’ solid oxide technology, we recognise that this decision is part of a broader revised strategic direction from Bosch and does not reflect its confidence around Ceres or our technology”.
