'Shaping the hydrogen market' | Bosch sends first 1.2MW PEM electrolyser prototypes to pilot customers
Stacks are nearly ready for series production, ahead of market launch next year, says chairman
German manufacturing giant Bosch has begun sending prototypes of its new 1.2MW PEM electrolysers to pilot customers, company chairman Stefan Hartung told a press conference yesterday.
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The compact proton-exchange-membrane machines are on course for market launch in 2025, he explained.
“Now in April we are building our first functional prototypes, which produces 23kg of hydrogen per hour with an output of 1.2MW,” Hartung explained.
“These near-series [ie, near volume production] samples are already being sent to pilot customers in plant engineering.”
These figures suggest the machines can produce 1kg of hydrogen from roughly 52kWh of electricity — a decent efficiency by market standards, but not a spectacular one.
“By 2030, there will be a good 170GW of installed capacity for hydrogen electrolysis worldwide, around 25 times as much as today,” Hartung added.
“Up until then, capacity is set to practically double every year. By the end of the decade, the global electrolysis market is forecast to reach €37bn [$39.4bn].
“We are capable of participating in that market and we intend to do so.”
Bosch is already mass-producing fuel cells for transport at factories in Germany and China, and also plans to produce hydrogen engines for trucks.
“The name of Bosch will stand not only for hydrogen powertrains but also for hydrogen production, and for both we will help shape the future market as a supplier,” the chairman explained.
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