Bosch calls on EU to 'boldly embrace' fuel cell vehicles to meet climate goals

FRANKFURT -- Robert Bosch has called on the European Union to encourage a switch to a hydrogen-based economy to meet the bloc's climate commitments.

Without fuel cells that use compressed hydrogen to generate electricity or synthetic "eFuels" that require the gas as a building block, the EU risks missing its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Bosch CEO Volkmar Denner.

As Europe transitions to more stringent CO2 fleet emission targets for passenger cars this year with trucks slated to follow, full-electric vehicles alone will not be capable of achieving sustainable mobility. Bosch says.

"It is obviously not possible to electrify every mode of transport. We also need carbon liquid fuels," Denner said. "This means boldly embracing the hydrogen economy, and doing it now."

Bosch plans to roll out a fuel cell stack in 2022 that can power commercial vehicles. It forecasts that every eighth heavy truck could be equipped with one by the end of this decade.

Long haulage is a particularly promising application where Daimler and Volvo Trucks have recently formed a joint venture. Daimler has decided to end development of fuel cell-powered passenger cars in the mid-term.

Denner said the technology remained in its infancy but said that was "no reason to say it should not be tackled."

The supplier's other industrial activities that focus on non-automotive areas also are examining the role of stationary hydrogen fuel-cell power plants, which Bosch believes could be worth more than 20 billion euros in 2030.

Asked whether Bosch might encourage the transition by investing in power-to-gas facilities that could split water into hydrogen gas using electricity from renewable sources, Denner said he did not expect the company would invest outside its core competencies: "But you should never say never."

Bosch has placed climate change issues at the forefront of its strategy, forecasting the company's global operations will be carbon neutral this year thanks in part to emission offsets.

Additionally, it aims to reduce the carbon footprint from the goods it purchases to those made using its own products by 15 percent come 2030. These are estimated at 340 million metric tons or a hundred-fold its own direct emissions, the company said.

The company has also founded a new consultancy called Bosch Climate Solutions geared toward presenting manufacturers a detailed plan within three months for reducing their carbon emissions. The consultancy has Freudenberg and Prettl as pilot customers.

Bosch ranks No. 1 on the Automotive News Europe list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide sales to automakers of $49.5 billion in 2018.