Bosch makes another bet on fuel cell technology

Bosch, the world’s largest auto-parts supplier, says it continues to believe that hydrogen fuel cell trucks and cars will play a key role in future mobility, and has taken a further step to advance the technology. The company joined forces with fuel cell stack maker Powercell Sweden to co-develop polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cells that Bosch will then manufacture under a global license, reports Christoph Rauwald for Bloomberg. Bosch said it expects the fuel-cell business to be worth “billions of euros” for the company over the long term and estimates that as much as 20 percent of electric vehicles worldwide will be powered by fuel cells by 2030.

Fuel cells could extend the range of electric cars and shorten refuelling times significantly. But they have struggled to gain traction because of high cost, a lack of infrastructure and the complexity of storing hydrogen. The automotive industry is split over the question of whether fuel cells will be used in many cars in the future. While Volkswagen is focusing on pure battery-electric cars, other companies, including Daimler, continue to promote the technology. German e-car pioneer Günther Schuh, who runs e-car start-up e.GO Mobile and also develops a hybrid “Air Taxi”, advocates the use of fuel cells as a range extender for electric cars because he believes it makes more economic and environmental sense than using huge batteries.