Stuttgart –After an interruption in production at almost 100 Bosch locations worldwide in the current month, the company is systematically preparing for the gradual ramp-up of production.
“With a reliable supply we want to serve the slowly increasing demand of our customers and contribute to the fastest possible recovery of the global economy,” said Dr. Volkmar Denner, CEO of Robert Bosch GmbH, at the annual press conference. “Our goal is a synchronized ramp-up of production and securing supply chains, especially in automobile production. We have already done this in China. Our approximately 40 plants on site are producing again and the supply chains are stable. We are working intensively on this in the other regions. “
According to Denner, the company is taking numerous measures to ensure a successful start to production to ensure adequate protection of employees against the risk of infection from the coronavirus. Bosch also relies on a coordinated, joint approach with customers, suppliers, authorities, and employee representatives.
Growth market for Europe: entry into the hydrogen economy
“Climate protection remains vital to human survival – it costs, but doing nothing is becoming even more expensive,” emphasized Denner. “Politicians have to clear the way for more ingenuity in companies to use technology with the environment – without harming prosperity.” According to Denner, it is important to have a broad technology offensive that not only provides a battery-electric path to sustainable mobility but also in addition to efficient internal combustion engines, especially eFuels and fuel cell taken into account. The company boss called for a courageous entry into the hydrogen economy and eFuels production after the Corona crisis. This is the only way, according to him, to be climate neutral in Europe by 2050. “Today’s hydrogen applications have to get out of the real laboratories and into the real economy,” said Denner. He appealed to politicians to promote the necessary technologies. “This way we can also achieve ambitious climate targets,” encouraged Denner.
Ready for hydrogen: mobile and stationary fuel cells
Climate protection accelerates structural change in many industries. “Hydrogen is gaining in importance in the automotive industry as well as in building technology. Bosch is very well prepared for this, ”said Denner. With its partner Powercell, Bosch is already preparing the industrialization of the stack of a mobile fuel cell for use in vehicles.
Further Reading: Bosch enters the series production of fuel cells for trucks and cars
The market launch is planned for 2022. The company intends to use this to position itself successfully in a further growth market: by 2030, every eighth newly registered heavy commercial vehicle could be equipped with a fuel cell. On stationary fuel cells, Bosch works with its partner Ceres Power. These can be used, for example, to power data centers. Bosch is already anticipating a market volume of more than 20 billion euros for fuel cell power plants by 2030.
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