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Bosch to Build US Fuel Cell Stacks

Read Time: 3 mins

Bosch Group will invest $200 million to build fuel cell stacks in Anderson, SC, its first such effort in the US.

Production is expected to start in 2026 and create 350 jobs, according to the German company, with a regional presence in North America since 1906.

Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America, said in a release: “The hydrogen economy holds great promise, and at Bosch we are all in.”

A fuel cell operates by using hydrogen to generate electrical energy. As the hydrogen ions pass over the fuel cell plates, they combine with oxygen to create electricity. The only by-product is water, allowing the vehicle to run with zero local carbon emissions.

When hydrogen is produced using renewable energy, also called green hydrogen, fuel cells enable vehicles to be operated nearly CO2-free. Especially for large, heavy vehicles, fuel cells have a better carbon footprint than exclusively battery-electric ones when the CO2 emissions for production, operation and disposal are added together, according to research by Bosch.

The Bosch Anderson facility has already begun work on the expansion to support fuel cell technology. Capital upgrades to the Anderson campus include an estimated 147,000 square feet of floor space to be developed to manufacture the fuel cell stack, as well as supporting clean room and climate-controlled environments required for quality-critical processes.

Bosch has a long presence in Anderson, where it started producing fuel rails in 1985. Its operations have expanded to multiple products within the Bosch Mobility Solutions business sector, including sensors and electronic control units for the powertrain.

Bosch noted that fuel cell stack production is highly complex. One stack consists of 3,200 individual parts assembled, more than 400 layers and more than 100 unique components. Fuel cell stack production in Anderson will expand on Bosch’s existing global production for fuel cell stacks, including critical subcomponents.

Mobile fuel cell technology presents a viable option for climate-neutral transportation of goods in Class 8 vehicles, in which battery-electric alone still presents challenges due to battery size and weight. Fuel cells can make all-electric operation of large vehicles for long trips a reality.

The company recently said would invest more than $1 billion globally to develop mobile fuel cell technologies by 2024.

The development of the new production process in Anderson was supported locally with assistance from the state as well as Anderson County.

Henry McMaster, South Carolina governor, said: “Helping Bosch to be among the first to commercialize fuel cell stack production in the US speaks to the strength of our manufacturing industry and workforce. We are grateful for Bosch’s commitment to our state and look forward to strengthening our partnership.”

For the period ending December 31, 2021, Bosch generated consolidated sales of $13.6 billion in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The US Department of Energy reported it has set ultimate targets for fuel cell system lifetime under realistic operating conditions at 8,000 hours for light-duty vehicles, 30,000 hours for heavy-duty trucks and 80,000 hours for distributed power systems.

In the most demanding applications, system reliability and robustness is required under dynamic and harsh operating conditions, according to DOE. Realistic operating conditions include starting and stopping, freezing and thawing, impurities in the fuel and air, and humidity and dynamic load cycles that result in stresses on the chemical and mechanical stability of the fuel cell system materials and components.

For more information visit www.bosch.com