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Bosch to strengthen strategic collaboration with fuel-cell expert Ceres Power by ...

22.01.2020

Press release

Business/economy

Bosch to strengthen strategic collaboration with fuel-cell expert Ceres Power by ...

Stuttgart, Germany, and Horsham, U.K. – Bosch has today, January 22, 2020, increased its stake in Ceres Power from 3.9 percent to circa 18 percent. The stake increase is achieved through a subscription by Bosch for new Ceres Power shares, as well as the purchase of further shares from existing shareholders. Bosch’s total investment will be approximately 90 million euros. To enhance the strategic investment and the strength of the partnership, under the terms of the transaction, Bosch is granted the right to appoint a Non-Executive Director to the board of Ceres Power.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. Bosch strongly believes that the highly efficient solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has an important role to play in energy systems’ security of supply and flexibility...Dr. Christian Fischer, member of the Bosch management board “Bosch strongly believes that the highly efficient solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has an important role to play in energy systems’ security of supply and flexibility,” says Dr. Christian Fischer, member of the Bosch management board responsible for the Energy and Building Technology business sector. “Bosch, together with our development partner Ceres Power, has made good progress in the development of fuel-cell stacks for stationary power applications. With this enlarged investment in Ceres Power, we intend to further strengthen our successful collaboration with our development partner Ceres Power.” “We welcome this further investment by Bosch which will support the continued evolution of our technology as we look to play an increasingly prominent role in tackling climate change and building a sustainable energy system for the future. We have established a successful partnership with Bosch by combining Ceres’ unique SteelCell® technology with Bosch’s engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain strength. This new investment will allow us to build on the strong momentum we have generated in recent years to further scale the business and expand into new applications,” says Phil Caldwell, the CEO of Ceres Power. Ceres Power is a leading player in the development of next-generation SOFC technology. Its strategy is to commercialize its technology through licensing for mass production with partners, and to use this technology for grid-based and distributed power generation. The Board of Directors of Ceres Power believes there is significant future value for shareholders in broadening the application of Ceres Power’s technology, further strengthening its relationship with Bosch. Both parties believe that this transaction demonstrates the commitment to the partnership.

Bosch scores big in Japan with clever technology

07.06.2018

Press release

Business/economy

Bosch scores big in Japan with clever technology

Tokyo – The Bosch Group is scoring big in Japan thanks to its innovative and intelligent solutions for the local market as well as for the global Japanese automotive industry. “Bosch has made impressive progress in Japan. We are working with Japanese automakers to drive forward the automation, electrification, and connectivity of mobility. In addition, we are increasingly focusing on IoT solutions, such as smart agriculture,” says Klaus Meder, the president of Bosch Japan. Last year, the leading supplier of technology and services recorded sales of 2.3 billion euros in Japan, an increase of roughly 10 percent over the previous year. Bosch Japan also made a good start to 2018, mainly due to strong growth for the Mobility Solutions business sector, which generates a significant share of the company’s sales in Japan. In 2017, the company grew twice as fast in this area as the local market. The Industrial Technology business sector also performed well. Bosch has been operating in Japan since 1911 and currently employs some 6,600 people in the country.Business with Japanese automakers sees double-digit growth In 2017, Bosch’s global sales to Japanese automakers rose year-on-year by around 11 percent, which makes it the sixth year in a row these have posted double-digit growth. Looking ahead, Bosch expects this trend to continue over the medium term. Bosch not only supplies Japanese automakers locally, but also works closely with them around the globe. In the ASEAN region, for example, Japanese automakers enjoy a market share of around 90 percent. Accordingly, the region is a focus of investment for the Bosch Group. For instance, at the end of 2017, the company opened its second plant for mobility solutions in Thailand, representing a total investment of 80 million euros. The new smart factory in Hemaraj manufactures components including injection valves, interconnect technology, and knock sensors. The site also houses a research and development center at which around 60 associates work on the further refinement of gasoline injection systems. Bosch is also expanding its manufacturing operations in Vietnam. Since 2008, the company has been producing push belts for continuously variable automatic transmissions in Dong Nai, which is located about 40 km east of Ho Chi Minh City. Bosch is currently investing around 60 million euros to convert this plant into a smart factory and increase its production capacity. By the end of 2018, total investment in the site will have exceed 320 million euros since 2011. Expanding IoT business: smart farming solutions In addition to its mobility solutions business, Bosch is also focusing on developing connected solutions in Japan, for which it is drawing on the country's high degree of innovative strength. Last year, for example, saw the launch of Plantec, a smart system for optimizing tomato cultivation in Japanese greenhouses. The solution is tailored to the local market, as greenhouse cultivation is particularly widespread in the country. Plantec uses sensors to measure humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, and sunlight. These environmental parameters are crucial for plant growth and data on them is collected and sent via a gateway to a cloud server. There, a system analyzes the data and takes into account additional important agricultural parameters as well as the weather forecast. The results of the analysis are displayed in an app. The system can analyze the risk of infection and use artificial intelligence to plan the use of pesticides in advance. It can thus help farmers minimize crop loss. Work on this project is being carried out in conjunction with the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence (BCAI). At the end of 2018, the company plans to expand this service to strawberry and cucumber cultivation. Bosch's goal is to supply around 10 percent of Japan's greenhouses by 2020.