eMove360° congratulates Bosch: German Future Prize for fuel cell drive system

The Bosch team led by Christofer Uhr, Kai Weeber, and Pierre Andrieu has been awarded the German Future Prize 2025 for the development of the Fuel Cell Power Module (FCPM). The award from the German president recognizes the system as a key technology for climate-neutral mobility. The award-winning Fuel Cell Power Module converts hydrogen and oxygen into electrical energy. This means that commercial vehicles can be operated completely CO₂-free over long distances – provided they have green hydrogen in their tanks. The only remaining emission is water vapor. Bosch is thus making an important contribution to climate neutrality in freight transport. Heavy trucks account for more than a quarter of CO₂ emissions from road traffic in the EU, but at the same time they are indispensable for the transport of goods and merchandise. “With the Fuel Cell Power Module, Bosch is demonstrating that hydrogen technology is ready for series production and can make an important contribution to the decarbonization of road transport,” says Hartung. “The combination of engineering expertise, experience, and system understanding makes the drive system an important step toward sustainable mobility.”

Series production of the FCPM began in 2023 at the Stuttgart-Feuerbach plant, followed shortly thereafter by the Chongqing plant in China. With more than a thousand individual parts, the FCPM is one of the most complex systems in Bosch’s nearly 140-year history – and also one of the most forward-looking. From the stack to the recirculation pump to the air compressor, all key components are developed and manufactured in-house. The drive module itself can be installed where the combustion engine used to be. Instead of diesel tanks, pressure tanks are used for the hydrogen. Refueling times are comparable to those for diesel, at around 15 minutes. Depending on the vehicle layout, up to 1,000 kilometers can be driven on a single tank of around 70 kilograms of hydrogen when driving economically.

Several thousand trucks equipped with Bosch’s FCPM are already on the road worldwide. The modules in the field generate valuable development data: many systems exist both physically in the vehicle and as digital twins in virtual space. Parameters such as temperature, pressure, and wear can be continuously monitored and fed directly into the development of the next generation of drive systems. FCPM technology can be used not only in trucks, but also in drives for buses and maritime applications. In addition, data centers can be supplied with CO₂-free electricity on a decentralized basis. In PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis stacks, which work on the reverse principle, Bosch also uses the technology to generate hydrogen from water and electricity—another important component in the hydrogen value chain. Following the market launch of its electrolysis stacks in April, the company recently commissioned its first electrolyzer with its own electrolysis technology at its Bamberg site.

ON OUR OWN BEHALF:

The eMove360° Award for Electric & Autonomous Mobility 2026 is now open. Take your chance to win the prize now. Click here to go directly to the online registration form. Apply for the eMove360° Award for Electric & Autonomous Mobility 2026

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