Recently, Bosch has been using a fuel-cell electric truck in its production traffic at the Nuremberg plant, equipped with Bosch's Fuel Cell Power Module (FCPM). Alexander Weichsel, commercial plant manager in Nuremberg:
„When we decided to make our factory traffic more climate-friendly, it was clear: We want a truck with Bosch's FCPM. The deployment is an important building block for us to reduce our emissions in logistics. That thousands of trucks worldwide are already on the road with Bosch fuel cell systems shows that the concept has proven itself.”
With the switch, the company says, Nürnberg also wants to set an example and, in line with the Bavarian Hydrogen Strategy 2.0, commit to building a hydrogen value chain.
Real-world
operation provides important data
The Iveco truck has a range of up to 800 kilometers and is operated by Schäflein for the Bosch plant. Schäflein, in turn, rents the vehicle from Hylane, a rental provider specializing in emission-free trucks.
The vehicle is to cover 12,000 kilometers per year and transport products from the plant's own production on a fixed route. This saves CO2 for Bosch at the Nuremberg site. The primary goal of the use is, however, initially – in addition to reducing emissions in logistics – to gain experience and collect a lot of data that will feed into the development of future drive systems such as the Compact 190 and Compact 300 models, says Weichsel:
„The trouble-free
operation shows that the fuel cell is ready for serial production. Crucial for a successful hydrogen economy are above all a high availability of affordable hydrogen and the development of an adequate H2 infrastructure, also in Nürnberg. We are actively working to implement the hydrogen strategy in Bavaria with industrial partners of the Nuremberg metropolitan region.”
Five hydrogen tanks installed
With the FCPM truck from Iveco, Europe now has its own system in real operation for the first time. The five installed hydrogen tanks would hold up to 70 kilograms at 700 bar pressure. The fuel cell system also delivers a total power output of over 200 kilowatts. And the e-axle is powered by the fuel cell system; two
centrally installed battery packs serve as energy buffers.
The system power of the truck is 400 kilowatts, and the permissible gross vehicle weight is up to 44 tonnes.
The serial start of the FCPM occurred in mid-2023 in Stuttgart-Feuerbach. The Bosch plant in Bamberg supplies the fuel cell stack for it, the Homburg plant provides other components such as the electric air compressor or the recirculation blower.
Bosch is committed to building a hydrogen economy and developing technical solutions for the production, infrastructure and application of hydrogen. In spring, the company brought to market technology for electrolyzers and introduced its Hybrion PEM electrolyzer stacks. Bosch is active in the application of hydrogen in the field of mobile fuel cells
