Bosch and the Mitsubishi Corporation, with Blue Park Smart Energy (BPSE), are partnering to create Battery as a Service (BaaS) innovations. The main idea here is that fleet operators will no longer have to purchase the batteries; they will simply pay to use them. This reduces not only the initial investment outlay but also operating costs, as electric vehicles can be operated more economically.

A pilot project in China is now working on business models for efficient battery swaps.

Battery in the Cloud, a system of cloud-based services from Bosch, will serve as the technical foundation for the cooperation. Smart software functions in the cloud continuously analyze a vehicle’s battery status and take appropriate action to prevent or slow cell aging. This, in turn, improves battery performance and service life.

In the pilot project in China, Mitsubishi Corporation as commercialization partner and Bosch are working with BPSE. Blue Park Smart Energy is part of the BAIC Group and a leading company for battery swap systems.

Besides developing technical solutions, plans are in place to create a financial leasing ecosystem that will then be marketed to mobility service providers and financing companies.

Around 15 million fleet vehicles are going to be electrified in China alone. Bosch and Mitsubishi Corporation not only want to support the electrification of fleets, they also want to encourage the utilization of used batteries in the second-life market on the basis of Battery in the Cloud in a further step to improve sustainability. With this in mind, the companies are planning to expand their Battery as a Service innovation activities to other markets.

Bosch cloud services also improve maintenance. Rapid battery charging, high numbers of charge cycles, an overly sporty driving style, and extremely high or low ambient temperatures all tend to be sources of stress for batteries, which makes them age faster. Bosch’s cloud-based services are designed to recognize and proactively counter these kinds of stress triggers.

All battery-relevant data, e.g. current ambient temperature and charging habits, is first transmitted in real time to the cloud. The insights gained into a battery’s current status enable Bosch to protect it against aging.

To give an example: fully-charged batteries age more quickly at particularly high or low ambient temperatures. Bosch’s cloud services thus ensure that batteries are not charged to 100% when conditions are too hot or too cold. Cloud data will also help improve battery maintenance and repair. As soon as a battery fault or defect is identified, for example, drivers or fleet operators can be notified. This increases the chances that a battery can be repaired before it becomes irrevocably damaged or stops working altogether.