Bosch puts its first hydrogen truck into service

Bosch has taken a further step on the road to climate-friendly logistics – with one of the technology company’s own products. Its Nuremberg plant recently started using a fuel-cell electric truck in plant traffic.

The truck is equipped with the Bosch fuel-cell power module (FCPM), which was recently nominated for the German President’s Future Prize.

The Iveco truck in question has a range of up to 800km and is operated by the freight forwarder Schäflein on behalf of the Bosch plant. Schäflein in turn rents the vehicle from the rental provider Hylane, which specialises in emissions-free trucks.

The vehicle, which primarily transports products from the plant’s own manufacturing operations, is expected to cover 12,000km per year. As a result, the Nuremberg plant will reduce Bosch’s CO2 emissions – because the vehicle runs on hydrogen instead of diesel.

The truck’s five hydrogen tanks hold up to 70kg at a pressure of 700 bar. Its fuel-cell system delivers a total output of over 200 kilowatts. Its e-axle is powered by the fuel-cell system, while two battery packs installed centrally in the truck serve as energy storage.

The truck has a system output of 400 kilowatts and a gross weight rating of up to 44 metric tons. In addition to its robustness and long range – which, unlike battery-electric vehicles, is not affected by the outside temperature – the truck offers impressively short refueling times, which are similar to those of a diesel truck.

“When we decided to make our plant traffic more climate-friendly, it was clear that we wanted a truck featuring Bosch’s FCPM,” explains Alexander Weichsel, the commercial plant manager in Nuremberg.

“This deployment is an important building block that helps us reduce our emissions in logistics. The fact that several thousand trucks with Bosch fuel-cell systems are already on the road worldwide shows that the concept is proving its worth.”