Bosch und Daimler are strengthening the development of fuel cells for stationary applications with different industrial partners. Bosch has increased its stake in Ceres Power from 3.9 percent to circa 18 percent. Ceres Power is a leading player in the development of next-generation SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) technology.
Bosch’s total investment will be approximately 90 million euros. Since signing a strategic agreement in August 2018, Bosch and Ceres have been successfully collaborating in the development of fuel-cell stacks for stationary applications. This enabled Bosch to start initial low-volume production of pilot fuel-cell systems in autumn 2019 in Germany. It is intended that the increased stake will further support the collaboration towards future potential scale up and mass manufacture of the Ceres SteelCell® for multiple applications including small power stations to be used in cities, factories, data centers and charge points for electric vehicles.
Daimler is engaged in the development of stationary fuel cells for emergency power supply of safety-critical areas of application, for example data centres. Lab1886, the innovation unit for business models within Mercedes-Benz AG, is now supporting drive and energy system provider Rolls-Royce Power Systems in a pilot project. In the coming months Rolls-Royce will develop a holistic concept for future sustainable and independent emergency power supply under its MTU product and solutions brand. The project is already in the development phase. Construction of plants for the pilot project is planned to begin at the start of next year. „The technology is now ready for series production and the commercial market", says Dr Martin Teigeler, Head of R&D of the Rolls-Royce Power Systems business unit. Daimler has been working on stationary fuel cells since 2017. In the USA the company is testing automotive fuel cells in stationary energy supply systems for power supply of computer centres together with different partners, for example Hewlett Packard. (SP)
For more information, please visit: Bosch, Daimler, Rolls-Royce
