May 23, 2022 • Paul Rodden • Season: 2022 • Episode: 117
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Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 117, A big joint development between three titans in Europe gets announced. And a huge press release by Bosch could make them the hydrogen leader in Europe. All of this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Paul Rodden
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Transcript:
A big joint development between three titans in Europe gets announced. And a huge press release by Bosch could make them the hydrogen leader in Europe. All of this on today’s hydrogen podcast. So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy? Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally? And where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance of hydrogen? I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions that will unlock the potential of hydrogen, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to the hydrogen podcast.
In a press release on May 17, Air Liquide, Toyota and CaetanoBus have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of developing integrated hydrogen solutions. This will include infrastructure development and vehicle fleets to accelerate the expansion of hydrogen mobility for both light and heavy duty vehicles. The partnership reflects the shared ambition of the three partners to contribute to decarbonizing transport and accelerate the development of local hydrogen ecosystems for multiple mobility applications. The three companies will use their complementary expertise to address the entire value chain of hydrogen mobility, ranging from renewable or low carbon hydrogen production, distribution and refueling infrastructure to the deployment of different vehicle segments. Initially, the focus will be on buses, like commercial vehicles and cars, with the further aim to accelerate the heavy duty truck segment by exploring joint opportunities as the three major players of hydrogen mobility will contribute to the emergence of new hydrogen ecosystems across Europe.
A key step to stimulate the demand and facilitate hydrogen access for other mobility applications. This includes the infrastructure and refueling stations, as well as integrated vehicle offers such as leasing and service to customers such as taxi companies, fleet operators, local authorities and others. The integration of different applications and projects within a hydrogen ecosystem where supply and demand meet will enable the overall hydrogen infrastructure to further mature. This initiative represents another step along the path of decarbonisation, which is consistent with a stronger focus from European governments and the readiness of hydrogen technologies. Matthieu Giard, Vice President, member of the Executive Committee of Air Liquide, notably supervising hydrogen activity said as a key solution to reduce co2 emissions of the mobility sector. low carbon hydrogen is a crucial enabler of the energy transition.
Air Liquide is pleased to partner with Toyota and CaetanoBus bus and such partnerships are essential to create efficient ecosystems that will foster the emergence of hydrogen mobility in Europe. Air Liquide has been committed for more than 50 years to develop the entire hydrogen value chain and will bring its expertise in both the production of low carbon hydrogen and the development of hydrogen mobility infrastructures. This partnership illustrates the capacity of the industry to bring concrete solutions to the fight against climate change. And in a quote from Matt Harrison, President and CEO at Toyota Motor Europe, we are excited by the opportunity to combine our strengths to expand the development of hydrogen clusters.
Toyota is role is to bring the hydrogen applications into the ecosystem. And by working together with our partners, we want to accelerate and intensify the use of hydrogen as a carbon neutral solution for mobility. This will gradually reduce the cost of hydrogen and its infrastructure while improving the business case for many future applications, including mobility. Patrícia Vasconcelos, CEO of CaetanoBus said, it is a great pleasure to work on hydrogen projects with these partners, and have the chance to reinforce the role of new forms of energy in the pursuit of a sustainable way of living. We’re aware of the responsibility of the mobility sector in this mission. And our goal as a bus manufacturer is to continuously develop new Hydrogen buses to reduce the carbon footprint in the cities. If we can do it in partnership to create a full ecosystem, the better it is because energy transitions are only effective with true alignment between companies, countries and policies. Alright, so this is an absolute monster of announcement between three titans of the industry. And I really can’t envision a better combination of companies to further push the demand and infrastructure in Europe.
Both Toyota and Air Liquide have a long history of supporting hydrogen development and infrastructure and CaetanoBus which is a part of Toyota Caetano, Portugal, and Mitsui company is perfectly positioned to really begin to develop these hydrogen fueled buses. And so really what I want the next step in this partnership to be is to announce where they’re focusing their attention to start building out infrastructure, because that to me, is really the critical next step in building out the hydrogen industry. And that’s location analytics. Next in a press release out of Germany, Bosch hydrogen offensive technology for Climate Neutral factories and zero carbon traffic. In a press release from May 19. Bosch is throwing its weight behind the push to establish a hydrogen economy. And in a quote from Rolf Najork, the Bosch Management Board member responsible for industrial technology and the company’s manufacturing technology chief said on the path to a Climate Neutral future, we have to make it possible for energy intensive industries to shift to renewables, hydrogen will be a key element in security of supply.
Bosch can offer the technologies needed for hydrogen use in various sectors. The company is developing fuel cells for mobile and stationary applications, equipping hydrogen filling stations with compressors and producing hydrogen and its own plants. In addition, Bosch plans to enter the electrolyzer components business. Continuing in the quote from Najork. We are getting hydrogen based technologies out of the laboratory and into industrial practice onto the roads and into factories through a newly established project unit. Bosch is making its hydrogen expertise available for other companies. It will be presenting its hydrogen activities at Hannover Messe from May 30 to June 2. In its industry 4.0 lead plant in Hamburg, Germany, Bosch is demonstrating what a hydrogen cycle may look like in a factory of the future, using renewable energy and electrolyzer produces green hydrogen. This hydrogen will then be used for manufacturing operations and mobility, with fuel cell vehicles refueling with the hydrogen that Bosch technology has already compressed. For industrial processes.
A stationary fuel cell developed by Bosch converts hydrogen into heat and electricity. Energy flows in the plant are controlled in line with demand using Bosch industry 4.0 software, the energy platform is already being used in more than 120 of the company’s plants. manufacturing operations account for some 90% of boss’s global energy consumption. This gives the company a lever. Again according to Najork, we are continuously improving our carbon footprint as our industry 4.0 lead plant Homburg plays a pioneering role in our global manufacturing network. We are systematically reducing our local energy consumption and generating as much of that energy as possible from renewables. We have to tweak both of these variables. Bosch is also looking into hydrogen filling stations as they partner with Maximator Hydrogen, a solution developed by Bosch Rexroth and Maximator hydrogen for compressing hydrogen for filling stations, storage tanks and pipelines is also to be trialed at the Homburg plant by 2030, Bosch Rexroth, and Maximator hydrogen want to make this technology available to 4000 Hydrogen filling stations, one in three hydrogen filling stations worldwide would then be equipped with Bosch components. Again, quoting Najork industry is paving the way to a Climate Neutral future Bosch industrial technology will deliver key components for the cross sectoral ecological transformation of the economy and society for hydrogen compressors Bosch Rexroth supplies low maintenance scalable system solutions with electro hydraulic drives, power electronics and automated seal changes.
The company’s portfolio currently includes drive units from 75 to 250 kilowatts. This gives the filling station operators a low cost option. When venturing into available in the market. The new container based compressors have the potential to reduce operators total cost of ownership by one half. And this way, Bosch and Maximator hydrogen are helping considerably to make the use of green hydrogen economical and passenger cars, commercial vehicles, buses and trains. Bosch is also addressing fuel cells for security of supply, energy demand is growing. One of the challenges here is a fluctuating availability of renewable energy. This is where stationary solid oxide fuel cells can help. Distributed micro power plants are used flexibly where the energy is actually consumed, which makes them ideal for efficiently generating power for industry. In the Homburg plant, a fuel cell system is now being used in a sector coupled hydrogen cycle at the telecom subsidiary power and Air Solutions. Bosch fuel cell technology is being used for the first time to power a data center. Together with the Chinese automaker Weichai and its technology partner Ceres Power. Bosch is planning to launch solid oxide fuel cells on the Chinese market.
All told more than 50 stationary Bosch fuel cells are now in operation at the companies and its customers locations. Each of these systems is connected with the internet of things over the fuel cells entire lifecycle data is fed into the cloud. This gives rise to digital twins that allow individual systems to be monitored in real time. Bosch plans to start production of stationary fuel cells and 2024. Production will take place at three Bosch locations in Germany, Bamberg, Homburg, and Wernau. And along with fuel cells. Bosch is also entering in the electrolyzer market. In the future, Bosch intends to supply not only the technology for compressing hydrogen and converting into electricity with the help of fuel cells, but also to be involved in the production of hydrogen. The company is now planning to start developing components for electrolyzers. These units use electricity to cause a chemical reaction that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. Provided the electricity comes from renewables, the end product is green hydrogen. By the end of the decade, Bosch aims to invest up to 500 million euros into the volume production and marketing of the core component of hydrogen electrolysis the stack.
These stacks are combined with power electronics, sensors, and control units to form smart modules that are designed for various outputs, sizes and applications, and that can be connected and service via cloud. Bosch hopes to launch its smart modules in 2025, with initial pilot plants to be equipped with modules next year. When developing this technology, the company plans to establish partnerships along the entire value chain, so they can offer production ready products as quickly as possible. And lastly, Bosch is playing a prominent role in the establishment of a hydrogen economy and actively supporting the move to alternative energy. It is taking the experience and expertise that it has gained in the volume production and digitalization of sustainable technologies, and making it available to partners and customers.
In this context, Bosch head up a unit that initiates and develops green hydrogen projects and brings together various stakeholders. One of the project units first hydrogen projects is H2Giga, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The project aims to design powerful, durable and scalable electrolyzers, including digital twins that simulate process steps and production setup and maintenance. Okay, so a big announcement by Bosch. This may be one of the biggest, if not the biggest companies I’ve seen to date fully embracing the hydrogen transition. Now being based in Germany, they are acutely aware of the energy crisis hitting Europe right now. And with a monster force, like Bosch, diving into just about every sector of the hydrogen economy, they will increase the rate of the hydrogen transition substantially. But really, what makes this announcement so important is not that they’re just entering into the hardware side of hydrogen, or just the software side of hydrogen, such as the digital twin enablement.
They’re combining the two. So while you have some companies focused in on the hardware side of hydrogen, and others focusing on software, Bosch can now come in and join the two product life cycles together, which will exponentially drop the price point and ramp up the scalability of whatever units they decide to produce, and move to market. So keep an eye out for Bosch, and the moves that they’re making in hydrogen, as that will give critical insight to the hydrogen market movement in Europe.
All right, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you can leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcast, Spotify, Google, whatever it is, that would be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you have any feedback, you’re always welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. And, as always, take care. Stay safe.
I’ll talk to you later. Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you did want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
