Bosch has equipped two vans with hydrogen fuel cell technology and started test operation on the road. The partner in the project is ABT eLine GmbH, which designed and converted the vehicles together with Bosch Engineering GmbH.

The fuel cell enables long ranges and short refueling times, which makes long journeys more economical. With the two fuel cell vans, we are expanding our understanding of the system and showing that the fuel cell can also be a suitable drive solution for light commercial vehicles.

—Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector

The developers were able to use Bosch components almost throughout for the fuel cell system. A fuel cell kit is used, which comprises the stack, anode supply module including hydrogen gas injector and recirculation blower, electronic control unit, electric air compressor and components for the hydrogen storage system, and even a large number of sensors.

The technical basis for both vehicles is commercially available vans that run on electric power alone. The batteries including peripherals were replaced by the fuel cell, five storage tanks for a total of more than 22 pounds of hydrogen, and a smaller lithium-ion battery.

Accommodating the fuel cell components in the available installation space was a major challenge.

—Dr. Uwe Gackstatter, president of the Bosch Powertrain Solutions division

ABT eLine adapted the cooling system, the vehicle control system, and the electrical system. Bosch designed the fuel cell system, integrated it into the vehicle together with the hydrogen storage system, and developed the associated control system. After the required technical tests, the vehicles were granted official approval for road use.

Even loaded, the vehicles can travel up to 335 miles and are fully refueled again in six minutes. The fuel cell can therefore be a good addition to the battery-electric drive in future for fleet operators whose vans cover particularly long distances during the day and return to the maintenance and storage facility in the evening, Bosch said.

The first Bosch components for fuel cells are already in volume production, but Bosch is looking to data from the tests to develop the system further, said Gackstatter. With cloud connectivity, the two test vehicles now deliver these in real time to the developers’ computers, supplementing the measured values from the test benches. With this knowledge, Bosch can offer customers components that have been tried and tested even earlier, as well as comprehensive support in system design.