Use case

For each project, Bosch will take into account three important factors:
Is the project profitable, is it eco-friendly and will it help to diversify our portfolio.
These principles are shown very clearly in the way they approach the automotive industry (their main
source of income). Compared to the power tool market where they primarily focus on sustained
innovations, within the automotive industry they focus a lot more on disruptive innovations.
As discussed later, they have a lot of products that are in the emerging/growth phase.
Knowing that the automotive industry is going towards more personalised, self-driving, Co2-neutral
cars, Bosch has positioned itself in all different stages of the process and all different components of
the car needed for this transition.

First of all, to make safe autonomous cars, they realised that there was a need for a third type of
sensor principle supplementing the camera and radar. So they came up with the long-range lidar
sensor (light detection and ranging) in order to complete their sensor portfolio. “This laser-based
distance measurement technology is indispensable for driving functions at SAE Levels 3 to 5. By
exploiting economies of scale, Bosch wants to reduce the price for the sophisticated technology and
render it suitable for the mass market.”1 This was realised by investing heavily in the inhouse
development of this technology for which they made up very diversified teams with people from all
different backgrounds.
As shown in graph A, Bosch is the leading owner of lidar patents worldwide. They are eager to
become the first supplier with the total sensor package in order to have a first mover advantage.
Having this all in one package is crucial as more and more car manufacturers demand full solution
packages and not just all the different components separately.

Not only do they invest in the sensors of the car, they also invest in mobile fuel cells for both trucks
and cars. Within these fuel cells, the most important and most expensive part is the so-called ‘stack’.
To explain it as easy as possible, this stack is like a combination of a lot of small batteries in order to
create one big battery. “To further improve and manufacture these stacks, Bosch has now formed an
alliance with Powercell Sweden AB, the Swedish manufacturer of fuel cell stacks. Under the
agreement, the two partners will work jointly to make the (polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM))
fuel cell ready for production. Bosch will then manufacture this technology under license for the
global automotive market. The stack will complement the Bosch portfolio of fuel-cell components,
and is to be launched in 2022 at the latest.” 2 From this development, Bosch got exclusive rights to
use it for all inventions on the road so for cars, buses and trucks. However, Powercell sweden AB has
the right to license this technology to industries not related to those from bosch. For example, they
gave a license to a leading European shipyard which uses this technology to make marine fuel cell
systems. Nonetheless, As seen during class (sessions 2 and 10), in order to make these fuel cells
being used by the big crowd, they need to create a whole ecosystem around it. As for now, both the
hydrogen and the fuel cells remain quite expensive. However, Bosch is using economies of scale to
try and get the cost of these fuel cells down.
Moreover, as Bosch has a diversified portfolio of fuel cell components (graph B), they work with
personally customised fuel cells. The customer can give specific performance requirements and then
Bosch will create the best possible fuel cell for their needs.
However, all of these developments with powercell sweden AB are for the western market but there
it doesn’t stop. Bosch wants to target other geographical markets too. Therefore, in order to be able
to go to China, they have established a joint venture with the commercial vehicle manufacturer
qingling motors. Their joint venture is called the Bosch Hydrogen Powertrain Systems (Chongqing)
Co. Ltd.
With this joint venture, Bosch combines its fuel cell knowledge with Qinglings experience in the
Chinese automotive market.
In general, by 2024 Bosch will have invested more than 1 billion in fuel cell technology and has by
now already invested 5 billion in the electromobility industries.

Another important project is that Bosch continues investing in highly efficient combustion engines as
they say “Even in the future, two thirds of all new cars worldwide will still be driven by an internal-
combustion engine.”3 This might sound weird with the recent attention on global climate change.
However, Bosch states and criticized EU regulations that it has to be the end of fossil-fuels, not of
renewable fuels which will also use internal combustion engines. Combining these highly efficient
combustion engines with more renewable synthetic fuels could make this another very feasible
possibility for carbon-neutral driving.
And ofcourse in order to complete their portfolio of vehicle power sources, Bosch is working on
electric engines too. Their main project is eAxle which is an electric drive solution for battery-electric
vehicles and hybrid applications.

These are only a few projects on which Bosch is working on in the automotive industry. Bosch has an
extensive portfolio for all different components for all different types of vehicles.
An important side note that you should keep in mind is that all of this is being done as a carbon
neutral company.

To end with, Bosch already developed and uses autonomous electrically powered shuttles. This
shuttle is used to transport people and cargo on different Bosch sites, airports and industrial areas.
graph A:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1007978/worldwide-lidar-patent-family-publishers-by-
organization/

graph B:

• German companies with the most patents for fuel cells 2019 | Statista
1
https://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/safety-to-the-power-of-three-bosch-completes-
sensor-portfolio-for-automated-driving-205440.html
2
https://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/bosch-to-cooperate-in-large-scale-production-of-
fuel-cells-for-trucks-and-cars-188480.html

3https://www.bosch-mobility-solutions.com/en/mobility-topics/powertrain-and-electrified-
mobility/gasoline-engine/

https://www.electrive.com/2020/11/11/powercell-gets-more-orders-for-fc-stacks-from-bosch/

https://www.bosch-engineering.com/highlights/fuell-cell-drive/

https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/1-billion-euros-to-be-invested-by-bosch-in-fuel-cell-technology/

https://www.bosch-presse.de/pressportal/de/en/emission-free-mobility-bosch-and-qingling-
motors-cooperate-on-fuel-cells-227520.html

https://www.bosch-mobility-solutions.com/en/solutions/power-electronics/eaxle/

https://www.bosch.com/research/know-how/success-stories/driverless-transport-systems/