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Dr. Tanja Rueckert, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Paul Thomas, president of Bosch in North America, at CES ® , on January 5, 2026 Check against delivery.Tanja Rueckert: Good morning, everyone! A very warm welcome to the Bosch press conference at CES 2026. Paul Thomas: Hello and welcome from me as well. We’re thrilled to have you here – thank you for joining us, either on-site or via the livestream. Tanja Rueckert: Vehicle components. Industrial machinery. Power tools. Home appliances. Microchips. It’s no secret that Bosch is a diversified company. But our expertise is not only broad, it also bridges a gap that many others struggle to cross: the divide between the physical and the digital. Most companies are at home on one side or the other. Rarely does one have equal competence in the world of things and the world of software. Bosch, however, is one such company: you could say we’re at home everywhere. Paul Thomas: Since its earliest days, Bosch has been a byword for innovative, high-quality hardware. At the dawn of the digital age, we then did what we’ve always done in our quest to bring the most pioneering and beneficial solutions to market. We figured out what competence was required, and we built it up in-house. Tanja Rueckert: Thanks to this mindset, software has been a core competence of ours for decades now. It allowed us to establish ourselves as an early digital pioneer in our diverse hardware-based business, where we helped drive forward the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Now, it’s enabling us to play a key role in shaping the software-driven mobility of the future. And it’s driving growth across the board: by the beginning of the next decade, we aim to generate sales of over 6 billion euros with software and services. It’s also put us on the forefront in leveraging AI, where we’re one of the leading European companies for AI patents filed – with 2,000 and counting. In total, we’ll be investing more than 2.5 billion euros in AI by the end of 2027. And so far we’ve already trained over 100,000 associates on AI – nearly a quarter of our workforce. Above all, having both hardware and software competence enables us to deliver superior versions of both. And this, ultimately, is what sets us apart. Our hardware has an edge because we can use our home-grown software and AI expertise to level it up. At the same time, our software has an edge because we deeply understand the hardware it runs on. The result is solutions that are innovative, intelligent, and offer a host of tangible benefits to their users. In other words, true people-centric tech! But let’s talk specifics. How exactly does our mastery of the hardware-software divide give our solutions an edge? Paul Thomas: Well first and foremost, it enables us to equip our solutions with groundbreaking functions and unlock capabilities no one else has yet been able to realize. Case in point: our smartphone-based solution Origify, which you can see in action at our booth. Counterfeit products are a huge and growing problem: last year they were estimated to account for up to 3 percent of global trade, with a market value in the trillions. We urgently need more effective ways to combat this problem, and with Origify, we’ve developed a truly innovative one. In simple terms, it works on the basis of surface pattern recognition. Where other solutions rely on add-ons like tags, chips, or codes, Origify uses an object’s unique physical attributes to create a tamper-proof digital identity. Once that has been registered in our system, our new Detector app can quickly and reliably verify authenticity via a live video stream. Within seconds, you know whether a pair of sneakers, a car part, or even a painting is the real thing. This revolutionary technology could really shake up the counterfeiting industry – and it stems from our profound expertise on both sides of the physical-digital divide. Tanja Rueckert: Of course, many people’s daily concerns are more practical in nature. Laundry, housework, cooking. In the home, our appliances have long set the benchmark for quality, innovativeness, and precision engineering. Thanks to software and AI, we’re now unlocking a new level of convenience and intelligence in them. After all, we strongly believe that technology should serve people, not the other way around. It should take away stress, and help you to achieve more for less effort – no matter what your skill level. For example, in the kitchen… And we have one more surprise!Guest appearance by Marcel Vigneron, Top Chef All-Star and Food Network star Paul Thomas: Look who we have with us today, let’s give a hand to Marcel Vigneron! Tanja Rueckert: Marcel, we’re so happy to have you here. But I must admit, all this talk about cooking is making me hungry! Maybe because I missed breakfast this morning… Marcel Vigneron: Tanja, not to worry: I just happen to know a thing or two about cooking! Got you covered. I hope you don’t mind a little steak for breakfast… Tanja Rueckert: Well, I’m jetlagged, and in Germany it’s dinner time, so that sounds perfect! Paul Thomas: I’m always up for a steak! Marcel Vigneron: We happen to have a few juicy ribeyes on hand. Let’s fire these up! By the way, how do you like your steak? Tanja Rueckert: Medium-rare, of course! Paul Thomas: Sounds good to me. Marcel Vigneron: Fantastic. So, I’m going to be cooking your steak with the help of some cool new technology you saw in the video. It’s cutting-edge stuff, where generative AI meets incredible sensors from across the Bosch world. Paul Thomas: And it’s all based on something the 800 Series Induction Cooktop already has built-in: our AutoChef feature. Marcel Vigneron: Absolutely, Paul. AutoChef is the basis here. It’s a sensor-based technology that continuously regulates the temperature of your frying pan and adjusts it so you get the best possible result. And now AutoChef is being leveled up with the help of the new Bosch Cook AI. That feature is still in final testing, but I can give you a sneak peek today of how it’s going to work and how helpful it’s going to be for home cooks. Tanja Rueckert: We’re always very excited to see AI making life easier. Can you tell us more about how it works? Marcel Vigneron: Sure, Tanja, Bosch Cook AI is powered by generative AI, combined with proprietary technologies and processes in the appliances. Basically, you take a picture of your ingredients and tell it what result you want – in this case the degree of doneness for your steak. The algorithm figures out the right heat level and timing and communicates with your cooktop, while giving you precise, live instructions. There’s basically no more guess work. And this Bluetooth meat probe is tracking the temperature of the steak as well. Together, Bosch Cook AI and AutoChef work in concert to lead you to the finish line. It’s that easy! Paul Thomas: It sounds fantastic, but tell me the truth – is it really useful for a chef of your caliber? Marcel Vigneron: Well Paul, the truth is I’m a huge fan of science and technology and I find it really exciting to see how the latest innovations can take my profession to the next level. And really, that’s why I love Bosch, because I feel like I’m getting a preview of something we’re all going to be using in a few years. You’re the enablers of the future, and it’s cool to be able to play a part in that! But at the end of the day, even I just need to get dinner on the table sometimes. And it’s great to have a helping hand when my 5-year-old distracts me at the wrong moment... Tanja Rueckert: Oh, I know all about that! I wish I’d had something like that when my kids were young – it would have helped me a lot! Marcel Vigneron: I hear you! By the way, I wanted to mention to people that if they stop by the Bosch booth this week, they can see me and a few fellow alums from Top Chef: my fellow Food Network star Bryan Voltaggio, and my long-time friend and co-host of Next-Level Chef on Fox, Nyesha Arrington. We have some fun things going on with a “Battle in the Booth” theme and some exciting cooking challenges. If you’re lucky you might even snag a taste… Looks like it’s done. Let’s see how we did. Tanja Rueckert : Oh, it looks perfect! I really think this could be a game changer – it means that anyone can cook an impressive meal for their friends and family. That’s what I call people-centric tech! Paul Thomas: And ultimately that’s what we’re aiming for. We want the seamless functionality of our products with their enhanced digital features to empower and enable people. Or as we like to say, “The more you Bosch, the more you feel like a Bosch”! Marcel Vigneron: Or in this case “cook like a Bosch”! Tanja Rueckert: That’s right, thank you Marcel! Let’s give him a big hand! So, first we’re combining our software and hardware expertise to unlock groundbreaking functions and unique capabilities. Second, we’re leveraging our software competence to enable hardware to do something revolutionary: we’re helping it evolve. In the past, if you wanted something more “up to date,” you had to trade in your old product for a newer model. Today, with the right capabilities and the right software, hardware can continue to evolve and gain new functionality long after you bring it home. Thanks to comprehensive connectivity, many Bosch appliances are now able to gain completely new capabilities via over-the-air updates. For example, we recently added “air fry” and “air sous vide” functions to a range of our connected ovens that didn’t come with them. At no cost to their owners! Paul Thomas: Wow, and we’re not only helping our own hardware to evolve. In the mobility domain, our Vehicle Motion Management is enabling many cars to gain new features, functions, and options for personalization long after they leave the dealer’s lot. This pioneering hardware-agnostic software solution manages and coordinates various functions in the braking, steering, powertrain, and suspension systems. Essentially, it allows all these variables to be fine-tuned at the press of a button. By selecting from different driving modes, the car’s characteristics can be intelligently adapted to the driver’s needs or the driving situation. And Vehicle Motion Management itself is constantly evolving – for example, we’ve recently enhanced it with capabilities to control the vehicle’s movement in all six degrees of freedom. Available as part of a pre-installed package or as an over-the-air update for capable cars, the control in all six degrees of freedom can play a major role in reducing vehicle roll during cornering. This means it can help significantly reduce motion sickness – which, as studies show, not only affects up to one-third of adults, but also disproportionately affects passengers. Since a lot of us are going to be passengers in the self-driving cars of the future, this has the potential to bring increased well-being to hundreds of millions of people worldwide – and to help eliminate a real obstacle on our path to autonomous mobility. Not bad for a little algorithm! And it’s another great example of how we’re using our hardware-software edge to make a difference in people’s lives. Which brings me to number three. Thanks to our dual-domain expertise, as a matter of principle we offer much more than individual components and piecemeal solutions. Across our diverse areas of business, we specialize in all-in-one systems, intelligent platforms, and even entire ecosystems. And this, as you’ll see, translates into numerous benefits for our customers. Tanja Rueckert: Our systems expertise is especially visible – and valuable – in vehicles. I’m sure you’ve heard of how software is enabling greater intelligence, efficiency, safety, and personalization behind the wheel. It’s really a paradigm shift – by the end of this decade, more than 80 percent of new vehicles worldwide are projected to be software-defined, with a market value exceeding a trillion dollars. Bosch is playing a key role in shaping this transition. Here, the combination of our software expertise and our profound knowledge across all areas of vehicle technology enables us to offer a major advantage to automakers. Specifically, it means they get customizable, deployment-ready systems with minimal development times and without the usual compatibility headaches. When it comes to software-driven mobility, we’re facilitating development from the ground up. Our Eclipse Safe Open Vehicle Core project, S-CORE for short, is an initiative we’re spearheading with our subsidiary ETAS. It aims to create a high-performance middleware platform based on open source. Middleware is basically the central nervous system of software-defined vehicles – it’s responsible for translating between the highly complex and diverse hardware and software components within a vehicle. Together with global automakers, we’re seeking to move beyond current OEM-specific solutions to create a single standard that’s available to all. Ultimately, this will speed up development, lower costs, enhance security, and boost innovation across the entire industry – which in turn means more people will have access to all the benefits software-defined vehicles have to offer. Paul Thomas: Our systems expertise is especially apparent at the solutions level. Here, we’re a leading provider of innovative hardware such as electronic by-wire systems, as well as the software that controls their operation and interplay. Soon, we’ll see a market first – with the launch of our true brake-by-wire system which will go into production with one of the world’s largest automakers. By-wire systems are a key technology for tomorrow’s self-driving and software-defined vehicles. And Bosch is quickly establishing itself as the go-to partner: by 2032, we expect to achieve cumulative global sales of more than 7 billion euros with our steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems. When talking about vehicles of the future, of course we also have to talk about AI. At Bosch we’re already using AI to enhance safety and convenience behind the wheel. By 2035, we’re aiming for sales of well over 10 billion euros with AI-based solutions for assisted and automated driving. At our booth, for example, you can see a demonstration of our AI-powered cockpit. This is a truly pioneering system, since it can both hear and see! This is possible thanks to two different language models. One is a text-based large language model, which means you can talk to your vehicle as if it was a person sitting next to you. The other is a visual language model, which means the cockpit can make sense of what it sees via cameras and sensors, inside and outside the vehicle. Together, they unlock some truly next-level functions: for example, the vehicle can automatically search for a parking spot when you arrive at your destination, or generate minutes for online meetings you attend from behind the wheel. Tanja Rueckert: As you’ve seen, our ability to bridge the physical-digital divide translates into a wide range of features, capabilities, and systems. It also makes us a preferred partner – for example, in the industrial domain, where we possess many years of experience as both a user and a provider. In fact, here at CES, we’re signing a wide-ranging MoU to explore an initiative to realize the next leap in industrial productivity using agentic AI. To help me tell you more about this exciting collaboration, please welcome to the stage Dayan Rodriguez, corporate vice president of manufacturing and mobility at Microsoft.Guest appearance by Dayan Rodriguez, corporate vice president manufacturing and mobility, Microsoft Dayan Rodriguez: Hi Tanja, hi Paul! Tanja Rueckert: Hi Dayan, so glad to have you here! Why don’t you start off by telling us a little about the project? Dayan Rodriguez: Happy to! Let me start with a little context. The world is changing, and so are the requirements for doing business in this AI era. Companies are navigating new layers of complexity and rapid technological evolution. In our factories, connecting diverse value streams is challenging. We must evolve with new ways of working. But it’s easier said than done – many factories operate with legacy systems, and they need to evolve intentionally and thoughtfully. At the same time, the volume of data continues to grow, but the ability to interpret it and derive decisions is increasingly difficult. This is where we come in. Working together, Bosch and Microsoft want to harness agentic AI to help transform factories. This powerful technology can make sense of this data, and then autonomously make decisions and execute tasks to optimize production, maintenance, and supply chains. It’s like adding another layer of intelligence to factory processes. Paul Thomas: In fact, we’re calling what we’re doing here “Manufacturing Co-Intelligence.” Our deep industrial knowledge forms the basis. Bosch brings decades of manufacturing expertise to the table as well as the lifecycle data insights leveraged from more than 1 billion products and 700 million digital twins in our own AI-enabled factories. Tanja Rueckert: That’s right, and in combination with Microsoft’s IT infrastructure and software expertise, we want to create an open, scalable, and secure ecosystem that empowers our customers. Our collaboration aims to see beyond data to understand its real-world meaning. And this is going to help manufacturers evolve to meet the challenges of the future. We want to give them the tools to make smarter choices and boost efficiency, while ensuring maximum quality and flexibility. But we also want to make manufacturing more human-centric, don’t we? Dayan Rodriguez: Yes, central to our vision is a factory that empowers and unburdens its workers. Our goal is simplified solutions. At the moment, when something goes wrong on a production line, like a machine malfunctioning, for example, it’s all hands on deck. Maintenance technicians are often called out in the middle of the night, or on weekends or holidays, to fix problems and get production up and running again ASAP. It’s stressful, and fixing large machines under time pressure is not without risk either. With agentic AI monitoring all processes, even minor deviations can be identified and solutions implemented long before they cause a catastrophic failure – meaning a safer, lower-stress yet more productive workplace for everyone. Paul Thomas: And of course, that productivity translates into savings. In our own operations as well as those of our pilot customers, we’re seeing system integration costs slashed by up to 70 percent, and predictive warranty solutions enabling savings of up to a third. Tanja Rueckert: Our agentic approach also delivers much greater reliability on the semantic level. Thanks to their integrated domain knowledge, our AI agents respond to questions correctly up to three times more often than isolated AI systems. And they save time, reducing the manual effort needed for things like fact-finding, data consolidation, and documentation by up to half. Dayan Rodriguez: Yes, the impact is profound! Thanks to our powerful blend of deep industrial knowledge and cutting-edge technology, we hope to transform the manufacturing landscape and the lives of those who work there. Together, we’re contributing to the development of a new future – where human and machine work together in intelligent and cooperative ways. We proudly call this our “Manufacturing Co-Intelligence” vision! Tanja Rueckert: Yes indeed. Thank you, Dayan – I can’t wait to see where our collaboration will lead! Dayan Rodriguez: Thank you both for having me! Paul Thomas: Our work with Microsoft is a strong example of how we’re continuing to push forward growth, investment, and collaborations here in the U.S. – and it’s only one of many. The U.S. is one of Bosch’s key growth markets. In fact, we recently signed an exciting cooperation agreement with Kodiak AI. This is a dynamic company on the vanguard of AI-powered autonomous trucking technology that has already deployed Class 8 trucks with no humans on board in a commercial operation. As part of our cooperation, we’ll be supporting the development of a production-ready, redundant platform that combines the hardware, firmware, and software necessary to realize fully autonomous trucking at scale. This platform will include sensors such as cameras and radars that the trucks use to perceive their surroundings and advanced steering technologies to promote enhanced safety for this critical vehicle segment. This collaboration is a win-win for us: it offers us a great opportunity to deepen our understanding of real-world autonomous vehicle requirements while at the same time enhancing our portfolio for the broader autonomous mobility ecosystem. Where investments are concerned, we’re on track with our silicon carbide wafer fab in Roseville, California. Over the past two and a half years, we have committed a substantial portion of our planned 1.9 billion dollar investment and remain on track to begin manufacturing later this year. Producing silicon carbide chips here in the United States is a key part of our strategic plan to reinforce our semiconductor portfolio and support our local customers with access to this essential technology for the future of energy and mobility – including hybrid vehicles. And in football-related news, I hope you caught our first-ever Big Game ad last year. With the help of some phenomenal friends, we showed the U.S. how Bosch products can transform your life for the better. But even if you didn’t see it, don’t worry. We’ll be back at the Big Game on February eighth with another winning spot that demonstrates how “The more you Bosch, the more you feel like a Bosch.” We hope you’ll tune in! Tanja Rueckert: Very exciting! I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. At Bosch, our innovation has always been driven by a simple goal: to make life better through technology. This involves putting people at the center of our efforts, and focusing on meeting their evolving needs. But we can’t develop people-centric tech without people, and this is why it’s so important that we maintain a dialogue with them. For five years now, that’s exactly what we’ve done in the framework of the Bosch Tech Compass, an annual survey we conduct in seven countries worldwide. Thanks to the Tech Compass, we know for example that a lot of people are suffering from a kind of “progress fatigue.” In fact, 57 percent of respondents would like to hit the pause button on technological development until its consequences can be better understood. On the other hand, never before have we seen such positive responses regarding AI. A majority of respondents believe it will have a greater positive impact on society than any other technology. And there’s more good news. General optimism in technology is higher than it has been in years. Globally, 71 percent of people now agree that technological progress makes the world a better place. Of course, we at Bosch share this conviction wholeheartedly. Because we’re committed to creating people-centric tech. By seamlessly bridging the software-hardware divide, we deliver technology that supports and enables humans; technology that is truly “Invented for life.” Thank you and come by our booth to see for yourself! Paul Thomas: Thanks everyone, and see you at our booth in the Central Hall!

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Coded #LikeABosch – how we’re creating software and AI-enabled solutions Invente ...

06.01.2025

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Business/economy

Coded #LikeABosch – how we’re creating software and AI-enabled solutions Invente ...

Dr. Tanja Rückert, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Paul Thomas, president of Bosch in North America, at CES®, on January 6, 2025 Check against delivery.Guest appearance by Danny MacAskill, Scottish trials cyclist Danny MacAskill: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Tanja Rückert and Paul Thomas! Tanja Rückert: Thank you, Danny. Let’s have a hand for Danny MacAskill! Danny, you’re truly a wizard on two wheels. And you’re certainly in a great position to appreciate the opportunities digital technologies are unlocking in the world of cycling. Paul Thomas: Danny, tell us – when you look ahead ten or fifteen years, what digital solution has had the biggest positive impact on your career? Danny MacAskill: In ten or fifteen years? Well, there are a lot of technologies I’m already using today – things that help me plan my routes and collect data that let me evaluate my performance, so I can do better next time. But actually… If we’re talking about that far in the future, there’s something else that I think will have a bigger impact. Tanja Rückert: What is it? Danny MacAskill: An AI-based robot clone of myself that I can swap places with before doing a risky maneuver. That will save me a lot of recovery time and just a lot of generally unpleasant injuries. It’ll have to look just like me, though, so nobody can tell it’s a robot. You guys can do that, right? Paul Thomas: But Danny, what makes your routines so special is you! So, while AI can help with your training and data, replacing you isn’t what we think AI is about. That’s actually something we’ll be talking about today. Danny MacAskill: Well, it couldn’t hurt to ask… Tanja Rückert and Paul Thomas: Hello everyone and welcome to CES 2025! We’re so glad you could join us, either in person or virtually. Danny and his bicycle offer us the perfect lead-in for the topic we want to talk to you about today: how Bosch is breaking new ground in our digital business. And our eBike business in particular is a great place to start, since it’s the perfect example of how our entire company has evolved over the last few years. From a leading innovator and manufacturer in the world of hardware, we’ve evolved into a company that can seamlessly bridge the gap between the world of things and the world of data. Fifteen years ago, we launched the first Bosch eBike system. The business initially brought together our expertise in traditional hardware domains such as cordless power tools and electric motors. We entered the market with a single drive unit, battery, and LED display. Fast forward to today: we’re one of the leading makers of eBike drive systems globally. But what’s more, we’re a leading provider of smart, connected solutions that are transforming the way consumers approach mobility and experience cycling. The ever-increasing digital expertise of Bosch eBike Systems is on display here at CES. For example, we’re debuting a new and unique solution called Battery Lock, which enables you to digitally deactivate your battery when it’s not in use, simply using your smartphone or Kiox display. Let’s face it, batteries are one of the most valuable and easily-resold components on an eBike. But once a battery has been disabled, it's basically useless to anyone else. Which means less risk of theft and more peace of mind for you. And it’s extremely convenient – to unlock your bike again, you don’t even need to take your phone out of your pocket, since the battery recognizes you via Bluetooth. We’re also presenting a solution called Range Control. This feature of our eBike Flow app helps cyclists plan their routes with the help of AI. If you’re an e-biker, you know that a big worry is whether you’ll run out of motor support before you reach your destination. Well, with Range Control, you know in advance exactly how far your battery will take you. It even lets you decide how much charge you want left when you get where you’re going. The algorithm does this by taking things like your system weight, installed components, route elevation, and individual riding behavior into account. On this basis, it dynamically adapts motor support to maximize battery efficiency during your ride. And best of all, the more you use it, the more accurate it gets, as it continues to learn your riding style. At least when you’re on two wheels with the Bosch smart system, range anxiety will be a thing of the past! What the eBike example illustrates is how software and digital solutions have become an integral part of our business at all levels – and that our heavy investments in this area are bearing fruit. By the beginning of the next decade, we aim to generate sales of over 6 billion euros with software and services. Of course, a lot of this will feature AI: after all, we employ some 5,000 AI experts, and we’ve filed more than 1,500 AI-related patents in the last five years. This makes us the European leader for AI patents, by the way. You may not remember, but at CES 2020, we announced that by 2025, every product and solution in our portfolio would either contain AI or be developed or manufactured with its help. Not only have we achieved this goal, we did so two years earlier than planned. But our digital transformation and the success we’re seeing with software and AI is only part of the story. The other part is what we’re hinting at with our CES tagline this year, “Coded #LikeABosch.” Code, of course, is the foundation of all digital solutions, and today we want to throw back the curtain and show you how that foundation is built. Not the literal lines of code, of course, but something far more fundamental. In a nutshell, “Coded #LikeABosch” describes the approach we take in all our digital activities – an approach that is above all guided by our “Invented for life” ethos. Let’s look at its four key aspects. First and foremost, “Coded #LikeABosch” reflects our focus on identifying what people need and want – especially when it comes to things like safety, convenience, and efficiency. On that basis, we create digital solutions that bring them real benefits – not just novelty. As a longstanding tech leader, we’ve always pursued innovations that improve people’s lives. Bosch was behind the magneto ignition that helped democratize the automobile, and we developed the groundbreaking vehicle safety systems such as airbag control units, ABS, and ESP that have saved countless lives around the world. Now, we’re doing the same with our digital innovations. Our software alerts road users to the danger of wrong-way drivers. It enables intelligent cameras that “see” smoke and fire before they get out of control, or that detect a ball crossing your car’s path and warn you that a child may follow. It forms the basis of energy-saving building management platforms, cutting-edge digital healthcare solutions, and safe, efficient manufacturing operations. And in the mobility realm, of course, it’s helping pave the way toward the software-defined vehicles of the future – and in the process unlocking many new benefits for their users. At our booth this year, one of the most impressive showcases is a racecar. It’s not just any racecar, though – it’s a cutting-edge Le Mans Daytona hybrid vehicle – also known as LMDh. It’s the first hybrid-powered prototype racecar approved to compete in both NASCAR’s IMSA series as well as the ACO’s FIA World Endurance Championship. These are cars you’ll see racing at endurance classics such as Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring. And they’re very special for two reasons: one, because the LMDh was the first entirely new car to receive global approval from both organizations, and two, because it has a Bosch hybrid system at its core. If you’re a motorsport fan, you’ll have to check it out! Among the high-tech digital features you’ll find is our new cloud-based telemetry platform RaceConnect. This module allows us to extract maximum value from the stream of data being produced by vehicles on the track by converting it into actionable insights for the series, manufacturers, teams, and fans, and all in real time. But it’s actually another component of the system we want to spend a few minutes talking about – namely, the braking system. Not for the reasons you might think, though. We have an inspiring story to share about how this brake system has enabled one particular driver to continue doing what he loves best in the face of incredible adversity. To help tell this story, we have a very special guest here today. But before we welcome him on stage, let’s take a look at the challenges he faces and the Bosch technology that’s helping him overcome them…Guest appearance by Robert Wickens, motorsport racing driver Paul Thomas: Robert, thank you so much for joining us here at CES! That’s a pretty incredible journey. You returned to racing in 2022, and this past year you debuted the Bosch hand control system for braking. Can you tell us a little more about the system and what it has enabled for you? Robert Wickens: Thanks, Paul! It’s a pleasure to be here. When I first returned to racing after my accident, I used a system that was based on physical linkages that went down to the actual brake pedal and pressed it. It worked, but it wasn’t ideal. Then Bosch approached me with a solution that took the electric brake system they supply for the LMDh class. That system is based on cutting-edge brake-by-wire technology, using software to intelligently balance the braking torque from the electric motor generator unit and the traditional hydraulic brakes. The Bosch motorsport team figured out how to integrate this hardware with parts of my existing system, and more importantly to adapt and tailor the software for use with hand controls. The result is like night and day in terms of feel and responsiveness. The added technology allows me to brake faster and with more consistency than with my previous system, and it also features advanced diagnostics for safety. In short, this system has given me the ability to control my vehicle in the same way that other drivers do. Paul Thomas: So, with Bosch technology you’re now able to drive with world-class speed and accuracy? Robert Wickens: Exactly. Tanja Rückert: And what does that mean for you and your career? Robert Wickens: Honestly, it’s a game-changer for me. I can race like I used to again. And that basically means I can continue to do what I love professionally, which is compete – and at the highest level. I also love that because of its software architecture the system is transportable; I have been driving a Hyundai Elantra N TCR, but in the future I can take it with me into any number of other cars. But more than that, I’m glad that no matter what else I achieve in my career, together with Bosch I’ll be able to leave behind a legacy for the next generation of racing drivers with disabilities. Not only by showing them that a disability is absolutely compatible with this career, but by helping to develop and refine the actual technology that will help them pursue their dreams. Paul Thomas: Can you give us any idea of what the future holds for you? Robert Wickens: Well I do have some exciting news! To start in 2025, I’m making my debut in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the No. 36 DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which is a step up in power and competition I’m looking forward to. Beyond that, my collaboration with Bosch allows for endless opportunities and continuing to push the boundaries of this system. So I know this is only the beginning of our story together. Tanja Rückert and Paul Thomas: Congratulations, Robert, and thank you so much for joining us today. You have such an incredible, inspiring story, and we’re honored to have been able to play a part in it! That’s a really great example of what we mean with technology “Invented for life” and real benefits. It also shows why we are so committed to driving forward the move to software-defined vehicles – because of the potential they offer for greater safety, efficiency, and accessibility. And not just in the racing segment! After all, Bosch has software expertise derived from our extensive knowledge of the entire mobility ecosystem. That’s what sets us apart from other companies – we’re active on all levels and in all domains of the software-defined vehicle, which makes us the go-to partners. Speaking of partners, let’s move on to the second aspect of our approach. As a matter of principle when it comes to our digital activities, we pursue a collaborative, hardware-agnostic, open-platform strategy. This is because on a fundamental level, we believe that in this sphere, more can be achieved by opening up than by narrowing down. That’s why we engage in collaborations with other companies such as VW and its subsidiary Cariad, with whom we’re working on bringing automated driving functions to cars in all price segments. It’s why we’re focusing on hardware-agnostic software such as our groundbreaking Vehicle Motion Management, which you can see demonstrated at our booth. And it’s why we’re proponents of open and cross-brand platforms in nearly all our areas of business, such as our award-winning industrial automation toolkit ctrlX AUTOMATION. This system runs on an open-source Linux operating system and functions kind of like an app store for high-tech factory applications. It already counts more than 100 global partners that are actively contributing to its further development. Or take the example of our smart-home business. Over the past few years, we’ve not only continued to develop intelligent, connected solutions that make our lives easier and more convenient, we’ve been working to make them cross-compatible with other companies’ products and platforms. After all, doesn’t it also increase ease and convenience to be able to choose freely among different brands and still have everything work together seamlessly? At our booth, we’re showcasing a range of new Bosch smart-home products that are now compatible with the Matter open standard . Matter is a freely available connectivity standard for smart home and IoT devices. Stop by our booth to check out our smart wall plug, door and window contact, radiator thermostat, air purifier, and air conditioning unit. We’re also showcasing the newly launched Bosch 100 series French Door Bottom Mount refrigerator , which will be compatible with Alexa through Matter in 2025. Bosch is excited to be working with Amazon to move the Matter-enabled home appliance space forward. And this launch reinforces our leadership position as the first company globally to have brought a Matter-enabled home appliance to market. All these flexible, modular solutions can help to make your home more comfortable, energy-efficient, and secure. And looking ahead, in addition to managing our home appliances with our long-standing Home Connect app, users may be able to control all Matter-enabled devices across a smart home through partner systems or hubs, such as those from Amazon, Google, and Apple. So more choice and more convenience – by taking a collaborative approach, we can serve customer needs even better. This brings me to aspect number three: in our digital activities, we prioritize the building of trust in new technologies. This is something we’ve been talking about for a long time, but it’s more relevant than ever today. At Bosch, we recognized at an early stage that without trust, many digital technologies are never going to achieve widespread acceptance and adoption. This is why an essential part of our digital strategy has been to put the focus on users of our technology, and to ensure that people’s concerns are addressed above all. Nowhere is this more important than in the realm of AI. This is why we’ve made it a priority to develop AI in a way that is safe, secure, robust, and explainable. Several years ago, we developed our AI code of ethics, which guides all our development activities in this domain. We’re also strong proponents of a standardized, easy to understand AI Label, which puts the core idea of the European AI Act into practice and will provide transparency to consumers. We believe these are important tools for convincing people to trust our digital technologies like they’ve long trusted our analog ones. And they will also help ensure that people remain the focal point of the development and application of AI technologies. For us, this people-centric approach means a focus on identifying applications where AI can be used to assist people and make their lives easier, safer, and simply better. One of the innovations we’re showcasing at CES encapsulates this approach perfectly. It’s our new Revol multi-modal AI infant care solution, and it was a CES Innovation Award Honoree in both the “smart home” and “artificial intelligence” categories. All you parents out there know how much time, energy, and uncertainty are involved in caring for a little one. This is where technology can help pick up the slack. The Revol is a smart crib that helps keep an eye on your baby, thanks to sensors, camera, and AI. How exactly? By monitoring your baby’s heart and respiratory rate. The software also signals in good time if a soft toy or blanket is covering the child’s airway or if crying is detected. And should your little one have trouble falling asleep, the crib can automatically engage a gentle rocking function. What this solution doesn’t do is replace the human element. Caretaking still comes from parental involvement and expertise, as you remain the decision maker. You’re just offered a helping hand to keep your baby safe and healthy, so that your time together is characterized by more enjoyment and less worry. This is exactly where AI is incredibly useful, and it’s why we’re focusing on applications like this to build trust in the technology. Dealing responsibly and transparently with user data is also part of this. With the Revol, all data transmitted is encrypted end-to-end and stored on Bosch-administered servers, while all data at rest is secured locally with individual data encryption keys. But we also give you the final say whether it’s transmitted at all – the Revol has an offline mode, which keeps all data within your four walls, if that’s what you prefer. The way the Revol harnesses digital technologies to aid and assist parents offers the perfect bridge to the fourth and final aspect of our approach . Namely, we aim to use these technologies to complement and support human intelligence and abilities, not to replace them – especially when it comes to AI. Here, I want to talk about AI – and specifically GenAI – in a little more depth, since it’s without a doubt one of the most transformative technological developments of recent decades. While the advent of artificial intelligence was already a milestone in itself, the leap to generative AI represents nothing short of a technological revolution – on par with the invention of the computer or internet. GenAI has thrown open the doors to everyone – you no longer need to be an AI expert to harness this technology’s power and potential. At Bosch we’re currently seeing how GenAI is acting as a catalyst for the rapid uptake of AI technology throughout our organization. As a result, GenAI has made topics like AI upskilling and AI governance so much more important. How are we using it? Well, in our internal processes, Bosch is using GenAI in a wide variety of applications with the aim of streamlining our work and serving our customers better. We’ve recently rolled out tools that for example support our associates in generating texts, videos, and software code. But GenAI is also helping us unlock new possibilities in our solutions for customers, too. In collaboration with the German company Aleph Alpha, we’ve launched an AI-based service which responds to vehicle breakdown calls with the help of natural language processing. With the multilingual elevator emergency call service, we’ve established another AI-based service which connects a person trapped in a stalled elevator with our service expert. An AI-based voice bot translates the interaction in real time, and GenAI enhances the support. In both cases, it means people in trouble get someone on the other end of the line instantly who can help them in multiple languages. We’ve also put GenAI into our Series 8 smart oven, which you can experience here at CES. Thanks to sensors, a camera, and a mini foundation model installed in each appliance, this oven learns to automatically identify dishes and choose the perfect time and temperature for each. All you need to do is assemble the ingredients, and the oven does the rest. Here again, the more you use it, the better it gets as it builds on its own experience and learns your preferences. That’s the beauty of AI, and why I get so excited about the possibilities it offers. But in all honesty, I also find it frustrating that there’s clearly still a lack of a balanced perspective on AI in wider society. On one hand, there is a lot of fear and misunderstanding, and this is leading to hesitancy or even outright rejection of AI. On the other hand, its strongest proponents often downplay legitimate concerns and are over-confident about what AI can do. As is so often the case, the reality is somewhere in the middle. If used wisely and responsibly, AI is a valuable tool that works together with and complements human intelligence. It can be an assistant, a companion for life and work. But it cannot – and should not – operate independently of people or be designed to replace them. This is why the development of AI skills is so crucial. This fits with our findings in the latest Bosch Tech Compass, the survey we conduct each year to gauge global attitudes to technology. In our most recent survey, we asked people about their opinions on a range of AI-related topics. Interestingly, a widespread belief in the importance of building AI-related skills was reflected in the results. For instance, 82 percent of global respondents are planning to educate themselves on matters related to AI. In line with this, 63 percent also believe AI should be taught as a standalone subject in school, which means people think such skills are increasingly fundamental and should be acquired early. In contrast, employers are at an early stage in recognizing the importance of AI skills – only about a quarter of respondents report that they have received any on-the-job AI training . At Bosch, we take the issue of AI skills very seriously. So far, we have launched a number of initiatives to upskill our workforce. Among these is a dedicated learning portal called our AI Academy, which is open to everyone at the company. It offers a broad portfolio of both virtual and in-person training opportunities for associates at all levels of expertise. So far more than 65,000 associates have completed training related to AI and GenAI. One area in which we’re actively demonstrating how we can put these new skills to use – and more generally how AI can be used to complement rather than replace human expertise – is the manufacturing sphere. Bosch is widely considered a pioneer of what’s being called Industrial AI, which involves harnessing the technology to optimize and streamline manufacturing operations, in the process helping to make it more safe, efficient, and precise. So that’s what “Coded #LikeABosch” means in a nutshell: digital solutions that are designed to assist, support, and benefit people. And they’re an increasingly fundamental part of our portfolio – and thus our growth efforts – in all our global markets. That of course includes the United States, and one digital innovation we’re pleased to be rolling out more widely is our wrong-way driver warning. The Bosch cloud-based system tracks vehicles as they approach highway entrance or exit ramps. Using anonymized data, the system can tell if a vehicle is moving in the permitted direction of travel. If it is moving the wrong way, a warning is issued to the driver. A warning can also be sent to other drivers, alerting them that an approaching vehicle is travelling the wrong direction. According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, there were more than 700 fatalities in 2022 from wrong-way driving – up almost 60 percent over a five-year period. Here is an example where digital services can provide real value to help reduce these incidents. That’s why we’re very excited to announce here at CES that we are working together with SiriusXM Connect to potentially bring Bosch wrong-way driver alerts into the new SiriusXM Connect mobile safety app. This would mean that millions of new consumers would have access to this technology to help alert them of wrong-way driving incidents. We’re also actively working to bring this technology to more vehicles and smartphones via collaborations; we hope to have more to announce soon. In other areas of business as well, the United States continues to be a major strategic focal point for our growth efforts, and we’re continuing our program of heavy investment here. A few months ago, we announced the biggest single transaction in our company’s history, our planned $8 billion acquisition of the residential and light commercial HVAC business from Johnson Controls and Hitachi. That’s expected to close sometime this year. We’re also contributing to the build-up of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. We’re continuing to work toward the planned launch of silicon carbide chip production at our Roseville, California, facility in 2026. As was announced just last month, the project has received proposed support from the CHIPS and Science Act, which is helping enable us to transform the Roseville site into a world-class semiconductor manufacturing operation. And that’s not all. We’re planning multiple new product launches in our power tools and home appliances categories tailored to the U.S. market. There’s a lot of exciting stuff happening at Bosch in the U.S. right now! And beginning shortly, people here are going to be hearing a lot more from us. They’ll also be seeing us in places they’ve never seen us before. One place in particular might be quite surprising… We’re proud to announce here at CES that for the first time in our company’s history, Bosch will be advertising at the “Big Game” on February 9! Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks and make sure to keep an eye out for Bosch during the game! As we look toward the future, we see how digital technologies are opening up a vast new landscape of possibilities. In particular, AI and GenAI have the potential to help enable greater comfort, efficiency, cost savings, and sustainability in nearly every domain – if the right approach is taken. We believe such an approach should put the focus on people. Especially when it comes to AI, we believe the four aspects we just outlined are essential to fostering a balanced and realistic view. They’re also the key to ensuring that this technology is put to work doing what it does best – namely supporting, assisting, and enhancing our own efforts. At Bosch, we long ago traded in our membership in the hardware-only club and are continuously breaking new ground in the digital sphere. But in a data-driven world, our essential motivation hasn’t changed. As ever, we remain committed to leveraging technology to make people’s lives better – in line with our “Invented for life” ethos. Stop by our booth this week and see for yourself what beneficial digital technology “Coded #LikeABosch” looks like. Thank you!

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With the future programmed in: Bosch is taking its software business forward.

19.06.2024

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Business/economy

With the future programmed in: Bosch is taking its software business forward.

Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management, Robert Bosch GmbH, Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the board of management, at the Bosch Tech Day on June 18 and 19, 2024. Check against delivery.Ladies and gentlemen, The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is one of the biggest libraries in the world. Its digital collection comprises well over 900 million files with a total size of some 21 petabytes. One petabyte is just over one million gigabytes. That number of files alone will keep you busy for quite a while. For example, by watching high-definition television non-stop for more than 13 years. Yet the traffic data we have now recorded at Bosch using our sensor technology take up somewhat more space than 21 petabytes – well over ten times more, in fact. This doesn’t only show how frequently we travel the world’s roads together with our partners. It is also a symbol of how, at Bosch, the digital and physical worlds have merged and are mutually dependent. It is only with the help of these vast volumes of data, for example, that we can develop our solutions for tomorrow’s mobility – hardware such as sensors and braking systems, and above all new and intelligent software for tomorrow’s mobility. Today, you will be able to see and experience some of these solutions for yourself on our proving ground here. I’m very glad that this has persuaded you to join us, and would like to extend a warm welcome to our Bosch Tech Day here in Renningen. Especially in mobility, the speed of software development is extremely high. One might even be tempted to dig out the old “data highway” cliché – but this time in a new, almost literal, sense: on the roads of the future, after all, software will have a greater influence on traffic than any other technology. For Bosch, the fast-moving nature of this field is an advantage: after all, across all our business sectors, software is already the decisive factor behind all our areas of future growth – whether the smart control of factories, smart home appliances, or our new growth area of medical technology. Yet while software is nothing new for Bosch, our focus so far has mainly been on programs for products, such as software for airbag control units, for e-bikes, or for efficient heat pumps. But another area is now growing alongside this – our business with “standalone software” that can be developed and marketed independently of any product. For example, we offer software for a video function that allows vehicles to detect their surroundings better. The decisive thing here is that the software is hardware-agnostic, and can run on chips made by different manufacturers. Demand for standalone software and for digital services will pick up rapidly over the next few years. By the end of the decade, we want our software to generate sales running into the billions. And that’s not even counting the software embedded in our products. To illustrate how important this embedded software is, I’d like to take a brief look at our very first software product: Bosch Motronic. This was a control unit that controlled ignition and gasoline injection at the same time. It did so digitally, with a microcontroller and memory. Forty-five years ago, Motronic debuted in a production vehicle, the BMW 732i. With this, Bosch heralded the automotive software age. What began with very modest volumes for one vehicle model has now taken on a completely different dimension. Each year, we supply our customers worldwide with more than 250 million control units that we have coded. Since the debut of Motronic, therefore, Bosch has developed from a purely hardware company to one of the biggest software providers in Europe, if not the world. In all, 48,000 people are currently working on software at Bosch – many of them in Germany, but also at our Indian subsidiary Bosch Global Software Technologies, which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 25 years and now runs branch operations in Mexico and Vietnam. All around the world, Bosch software can be found in countless production lines, car repair shops, and medical appliances. It alerts to the danger of wrong-way drivers and surveils landmarks such as the Elbphilharmonie concert hall and Neuschwanstein Castle, where it guards valuable cultural assets against fire and vandalism. It can be found in industrial technology, where we have developed the fastest-growing factory-automation ecosystem in the shape of the ctrlX Automation control platform. And in our Building Technologies division, our Nexospace software offers a digital service solution for efficient and sustainable building management. Indeed, until very recently, algorithms developed by us were even to be found in outer space, in software that analyzed noises on board the ISS and alerted to possible anomalies. So as you can see, “Invented for life” applies to our software as well. And unlike purely software companies, we are even in a position to integrate lines of code directly into products – into people’s lives, if you like. At all times, the basis for our “Invented for life” ethos has been our strengths in the precise and reliable manufacture of complex physical objects. We want to continue to dynamically build on these strengths, as well as on our profound domain knowledge in mobility, manufacturing, and building technology. It is precisely these strengths that are now making us increasingly attractive for partners who have traditionally played a leading role in the world of software. As it is, barely any company will be able to exploit the huge potential of software and AI on its own. Instead, what is needed is alliances between equal partners. In this context, open source software offers an especially useful way of pooling expertise across company boundaries, of saving costs, and of creating standardized solutions. In AI for its part, which is becoming increasingly important for software development, we now need planning certainty. The AI Act passed by the EU must now be rapidly translated into standards, so that expensive and complex case-by-case assessments can be avoided. Regulation is necessary. But it must not unnecessarily throttle the pace of technology or even prevent innovation. Especially in the area of mobility, this pace is increasingly picking up. The triumphant march of software will revolutionize the automotive industry more fundamentally than any new type of powertrain. Justifiably, more and more customers expect their vehicle to synchronize smoothly with their digital world. This also includes its updatability. In the future, it will not just be the case that the software in cars, trucks, motorbikes, and e-bikes will be state of the art when they are made. Instead, it will keep pace with developments. With software under the hood, cars will become out of date more slowly. It will then be possible to integrate improved convenience features and new safety functions over the air, without any fuss – just like in a smartphone. Bosch technology will make software updates possible for e-bikes, motorbikes, cars, and trucks. Since the debut of our smart system for e-bikes at the end of 2021 alone, we have used software updates to roll out roughly 70 new features and modifications via the eBike Flow app – from an alarm and tracking function to new riding modes. However, the growing demands made of software-defined mobility are pushing conventional vehicle architectures to their limits. This is why Bosch is now developing a centralized, cross-domain IT and electronics architecture featuring a high-performance software stack and powerful vehicle computers and sensors. Our advantage here is that we know our way around hardware AND software – and are thus one of the few companies that are fully proficient in the interplay of automotive electronics and the cloud. McKinsey estimates that the global market for automotive software and electronics may reach 462 billion dollars by 2030. That is the equivalent of 5.5 percent average annual growth from 2019 – and thus significantly more than the growth of automotive production. We want to be the number-one choice for automakers worldwide in this area as well. On top of that, there is hardware. Without it, the new software world will not be practicable. This is an area where we are already successful. With our modern vehicle computers alone, we have generated sales of just under 4 billion euros over the past three years. Ladies and gentlemen, software is not just an add-on for Bosch, but one of the mainstays of our success. Software determines our processes, our manufacturing operations, and the way we think. For a long time now, software has been just as much a part of our everyday work as the five red letters at our factory gates. Together with AI, it is the foundation for future innovation. And in all our business sectors, it will become increasingly important for value creation. But it is especially in mobility that we have a very clear goal: Just as there is barely any car today that does not feature a Bosch part, in the future there won’t be any cars on the road that do not feature Bosch software. To explain to you how we are shaping the future of mobility in the process, I’d now like to hand over to my colleague Markus Heyn. Thank you!A new chapter in automaking history: Markus Heyn on the age of the software-defined vehicleLadies and gentlemen, A warm welcome to Renningen from me as well. On your way here, it’s likely that some of you already spent a few minutes in one of the traffic jams around Stuttgart this morning. Ten meters forward – brake – stop – jolt. Then another ten meters, and again: brake, stop, jolt. This could soon be a thing of the past. Not the traffic jams, unfortunately. But the constant jolts every time you brake. This is because Bosch has developed software – which we’ll be demonstrating to you later – that lets vehicles brake very softly, without any jolts. Now you might say that soft braking like this is nothing more than a fun gimmick in the car of the future. But have you ever actually tried to bring your vehicle to a halt completely smoothly, without any jolts, like a real chauffeur? It really isn’t that easy, even if you concentrate hard! And apart from that, you might like to ask your passengers, and your children on the rear seat, what they think. Anyone who is reading something on their cellphone, or who is prone to travel sickness, will be very grateful for ultra-smooth braking. We can ensure jolt-free stop-and-go driving with software that brakes as smoothly as a professional chauffeur. Not only does this solution make for an especially smooth ride, it is also part of a new chapter in the history of automaking. We are standing at the dawn of the age of the software-defined vehicle. As Stefan has already made clear, Bosch is just as much a software company as a hardware one. This is especially true of our mobility sector, where 42,000 people worldwide are working to develop software for current and future vehicles. That’s more than in any other company in the automotive industry. And with that, we are already part of the change in our industry. Increasingly, the starting point for designing and developing new vehicle models is software. That said, the software-defined vehicle, or SDV, won’t appear overnight, and there are very few fully software-defined vehicles on our roads right now. The ones that are come almost exclusively from completely new players in the market. As fully software-defined vehicles gradually become more common, the share of software in vehicles will triple. In some cases, one single car may currently feature more than one hundred control units, made by different manufacturers. Even now, orchestrating this cacophony is a very demanding task. And updating it while preserving the necessary safety and reliability is a headache. But for an SDV to be updatable, its electrical and electronic architecture must not be too complex. So what we need is a high-performance software stack and ever fewer, but more powerful, vehicle computers. In an SDV, therefore, we have to merge many of the functions that have so far been domain-specific: together with Qualcomm, we have already debuted a system-on-chip that can simultaneously process infotainment and driver assistance functions – and were the first supplier to do so. In the future, other domains could be integrated on one chip. In this way, the number of control units could be reduced to less than ten by 2030. The result would be installation that takes up less space, fewer cables, and less weight. In short, costs would be lower and flexibility higher. Merging driver assistance and infotainment control units alone can reduce costs by as much as 30 percent. Depending on the vehicle class, this can mean a saving of more than 100 euros in some cases – and this in just one component. This will also make automated driving functions more affordable, and thus attractive for price-conscious vehicle segments. So as you can see, the software defined vehicle will also mean more changes in hardware requirements than the name may suggest. For its part, the required software will be developed in close collaboration between OEMs and suppliers. One challenge here is connecting the many software packages in the vehicle, which have to communicate with each other across brand boundaries. The Bosch subsidiary ETAS provides the middleware for this. If you like, this is the translation software between the vehicle’s physical components and its application software, even if they are made by different suppliers. But above all, what is new here is that individual software functions can now be marketed as licensed products, independently of hardware. One good example of this is our Vehicle Motion Management. And that brings us back to jolts when braking. Vehicle Motion Management, or VMM for short, is a comprehensive systems solution that makes the driving experience safer, smoother, more efficient, and also a bit more unusual. Both the suspension and the powertrain, braking, and steering systems are managed optimally and in concert by the software. This allows handling characteristics, such as acceleration and braking behavior, to be individually determined – all the way to a jolt-free halt. I warmly recommend you to see for yourself later on how this improves smoothness, safety, and vehicle dynamics. Vehicle Motion Management is also evidence of the success of the Mobility business sector and its new organization. I’m sure you have already heard that we have completely reorganized this sector, especially with respect to three future cross-domain areas of mobility: software, semiconductors, and vehicle computers. Our top priority here is the best possible market and customer focus. Our response to geopolitical developments is to significantly step up our international collaboration. To achieve this, we have been working even more intensively across divisional, regional, and functional boundaries since the beginning of the year. Without this new structure, it is unlikely that Vehicle Motion Management could have debuted so quickly. And our customers also appreciate this new speed: for VMM alone, we expect sales running into the hundreds of millions by 2030. Standalone software will account for a significantly greater share of the future sales revenue than classic embedded software. With our mobility solutions as a whole, we want our newly restructured business to achieve global sales of more than 80 billion euros by 2029. And of course, we also want automated driving solutions to play a part in this. In this context, the SDV is essential for future developments. For privately owned vehicles, Bosch is focusing on gradually taking driver assistance forward. Right now, we are the only established Tier 1 supplier developing driver assistance software for Levels 2+ and beyond. For the various levels, Bosch can supply the crucial products: sensors, cameras, and radar, as well as the vehicle computers, software, and services to go with them. Especially in automated driving, advances in AI are opening up completely new possibilities. This is because generative AI will be capable of describing the visual world more precisely and translating it into code. In this way, vehicles will be able to deal much better with complex situations. So if, say, a ball suddenly rolls onto the road ahead, cars will soon no longer register the mere object, but also anticipate the child that may come running after it. Widening context in this way allows the system to react significantly faster and more appropriately in comparable situations. Such a scenario is made possible by combining what are known as foundation models with our profound knowledge of vehicle systems. With our huge volumes of traffic data, we can train the AI. And because you can never have enough material for this purpose, we are working to collect even more traffic data with various automakers the world over – also with the VW software subsidiary Cariad. In the future as well, therefore, our store of data will likely be bigger than the Library of Congress’s – a kind of digital library for the mobility of the future. And now we’re looking forward to your questions. Following them, you will be able to try out in practice a lot of the things we have only talked about here. And that includes soft braking. I wish you all a fascinating – and jolt-free – afternoon. Thank you!

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Energized #LikeABosch – energy-focused innovations to power a sustainable tomorrow

08.01.2024

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Business/economy

Energized #LikeABosch – energy-focused innovations to power a sustainable tomorrow

Dr. Tanja Rückert, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America, at CES®, on January 8, 2024 Check against deliveryHello everyone, and welcome to the Bosch press conference at CES 2024! We’re delighted to have you here – thank you so much for joining us, either in person or via our livestream. Today we’d like to talk to you about a topic that affects us all: energy. Did you know that over the past 50 years global energy use has doubled? Those of us who were around in the 1970s know that it was hardly the dark ages. Most of the modern comforts and conveniences we know today already existed: cars, dishwashers, air conditioning, airplane travel. But as more and more people around the globe have gained access to modern technologies and our collective use of them has intensified, our energy consumption has skyrocketed. And it hasn’t peaked yet: in fact, our needs are still growing at a rate of 1 to 2 percent each year. The problem, of course, is that we continue to meet most of these needs with fossil fuels. Fossil fuels still account for more than 80 percent of energy consumed globally, yet we must reduce our dependence on them for the sake of our climate. Clearly, returning to pre-industrial levels of consumption is not an option. Somehow, we have to find a way forward that balances our ever-growing need for energy with the health and stability of our planet. We need an approach that is sustainable from social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This is especially true where energy is concerned. Today, you’re going to hear about the wide range of technologies we’re developing to help us meet our energy needs in a more sustainable way – with solutions that make our lives “Energized #LikeABosch.” When it comes to energy-focused innovation, we’re pursuing a two-pronged approach: First, we’re focusing on optimizing the use of traditional energy sources. Specifically, this involves continuously improving efficiency, thus saving energy and costs, as well as driving forward electrification. Electrification in particular holds tremendous potential as a pathway to achieving net-zero goals in multiple domains, including personal and commercial transport as well as the home. Second, we’re looking beyond traditional energy sources for more sustainable alternatives. We’re focusing in particular on hydrogen, which we believe will be central to meeting our future climate-neutral energy needs. Here, we’re active at multiple points along the H 2 value chain, from building up a production and supply infrastructure to developing innovative new hydrogen-based technologies. So, let’s start by looking in more detail at how we’re enhancing the use of traditional energies. As I mentioned, a major focus of our activities here is electrification. At first glance, electrification seems to simply be a means to reducing energy consumption, since electric technologies are often far more efficient than their fossil fuel-based counterparts. But electrification offers much more: electric solutions come with the potential for climate-neutral operation “baked-in” – all they need for this is a supply of electricity generated from renewables. Mobility in particular is already well on its way to becoming more electric, and Bosch is a leading supplier along the electromobility value chain. In fact, our diversity here is unrivaled across the globe – with technology ranging from chips to e-axles, from e-bikes to trucks, from batteries to fuel cells, and from hardware to software and services. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the viability of electric cars as an everyday mode of transport increase dramatically. But a big stumbling block continues to be the charging process: drivers used to investing only a few minutes in finding a gas station and filling their tanks are suddenly confronted with the question of where to charge an electric vehicle, and above all when. Well, we’ve been thinking about this too, and we have a solution: what if your car could go charge itself? The year before last, our automated valet parking solution became the first driverless parking system officially approved for commercial use. At CES 2024, we’re debuting an exciting new addition to this system, which conveniently has to do with energy – and it’s a CES Innovation Award Honoree. Automated valet charging is essentially an automated way to charge your electric car when you’re out and about. You don’t have to worry about finding an empty charging spot or returning to the parking garage halfway through your shopping trip to unplug – all you have to do is press a button on your phone, and the system takes care of the rest, guiding the vehicle to the charging station and back to a parking space when it’s full. This isn’t something in the pipeline – it’s already available to our customers now. And by no means does it require newly built, state-of-the-art parking garages. We’ve designed the charging setup to work in two ways: the AVC robot can either be deployed in garages that already have automated valet parking, or in garages that are installing the required infrastructure for the first time. This combination of automated valet parking and automated valet charging is unique in the market and is already generating considerable interest among our automotive customers. It sounds like a fun gimmick, right? Well, it’s actually more than that. Every step we make toward increasing the convenience of electromobility will also increase its attractiveness – which in turn will drive uptake. As a matter of fact, we’re working on improving the feasibility and attractiveness of electromobility on many levels. This is why we’re also investing in silicon carbide technology. In electric vehicles, silicon carbide chips enable greater range and more efficient recharging, as they use up to 50 percent less energy than standard chips. Installed in vehicles’ power electronics, they enable cars to drive a significantly longer distance on one battery charge – on average, range is 6 percent greater. We’re currently ramping up our production capacities for silicon carbide chips globally, including a major investment here in the U.S. As we announced a few months ago, we recently acquired a California-based wafer fab, and over the next few years plan to invest more than 1.5 billion dollars in the Roseville facility, with the aim of starting production there by 2026. At our booth, we’ll have a demo explaining the benefits of silicon carbide as we prepare to ramp up production of this important technology here in the United States. In addition to the mobility sphere, we’re focusing on the home as a major candidate for energy optimization. We see huge potential for optimizing energy use in the home. For example, in the U.S., residential and commercial buildings are responsible for nearly a third of total energy use as well as total greenhouse gas emissions. This is unsurprising, considering that more than half of American homes still rely on gas or other fossil fuels as their primary heating or cooking fuel. Around the world, we’re developing technologies to make buildings and their contents more energy-efficient and to facilitate electrification. A major focal point for us is heat-pump technology. Here in North America, we’re debuting a very exciting innovation at CES which is hitting the market this year – our new air-to-air IDS Ultra Heat Pump. Unlike most air-to-air heat pumps, it was developed for areas with harsh winters. Traditionally, air-source heat pumps have the advantage of being relatively affordable and easy to install, and like all heat pumps they can cool as well as heat. They have the disadvantage, however, of not working very well in extremely cold temperatures. We recently conducted a survey here in the U.S. and Canada that confirmed our suspicions: while awareness of heat pumps is near universal, and more than a fifth of all respondents even currently own one, this is very geographically uneven. The highest percentage of heat pump ownership is concentrated in the Southeast, no doubt due to its mild winters. In colder places like New England and the Upper Midwest, we see ownership rates 6 to 7 times lower. And in those places, the few homeowners who do invest in a heat pump usually have to keep a backup system running that takes over when temperatures drop below freezing. Our new cold-climate heat pump nearly eliminates this need. It provides 100 percent heating capacity down to outdoor temperatures of 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s operational down to minus 13. For people in northern regions, this means they can reduce their reliance on fossil fuel-based heating systems and make the switch to electric in a more affordable way, thanks to the growing number of state rebates and federal tax credits here in the U.S. And apart from electricity’s superior sustainability credentials and net-zero readiness, switching to heat pumps also comes with energy and cost saving advantages. This is definitely good news for the nearly two-thirds of respondents to our survey who cited cost and efficiency as their main concerns when it comes to heating and cooling their homes! In an announcement today, the Department of Energy confirmed that Bosch’s cold climate heat pump meets the requirements to progress from lab to field testing as part of the Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to advance heat pump technology, allowing consumers options for electrified heating and cooling of their homes. Heat-pump technology is so promising, in fact, that we’re also putting it to use in other areas of the home. One of these is the new hybrid electric water heater we’re showcasing here at CES. Launching in North America later this year, this is the most energy-efficient water heater in our lineup: by combining heat-pump technology with electric elements, this ENERGY STAR-certified device achieves 3 to 4 times the efficiency of our traditional electric storage water heaters. With solutions like this, we’re helping pave the way to an increasingly electrified home. Of course, we’re also focusing on appliances as a lever for energy savings. Bosch home appliances has been a frontrunner in this area for a long time – evidenced by the fact that it was named as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy for the third year in a row. Most of us know that it’s possible to run our appliances on a schedule that optimizes electricity costs or green energy usage; in practice, however, it’s not always easy. First, we have to know what time of day to run them; then we have to remember to actually switch them on at the right time. Well, our new MySchedule feature can help on both counts. Included on our new generation of dishwashers, this function is operated via our Home Connect platform. In a nutshell, MySchedule allows you to automatically delay operation to hours when electricity is cheapest or when green energy is available. This means that your ability to optimize your energy use no longer depends on your ability to remember to hit the “on” button at the right moment. Another approach to optimizing energy comes from our Power Tools business. If you work with cordless power tools, you know how much of a headache it is to keep track of your different batteries and make sure they’re charged. We’re looking to simplify workers’ lives by reducing the number of battery solutions they need to keep track of. AMPShare is a shared battery platform which lets workers use the same batteries across Bosch power tools, as well as the AMPShare-compatible products of our partners. Workers have been excited about the opportunity to simplify their battery assortment. Since AMPShare launched, we’ve welcomed more than 30 global partners, including 15 here in North America, 3 of which are new partners we’re introducing here at CES. Beyond welcoming new partners, we’re collaborating with our partners on new product launches. In the near future we expect there will be a number of new AMPShare-compatible products hitting the market, such as the Perfect Pro radio, which is on display in the Bosch booth. In addition to making it easier for workers to manage their batteries, AMPShare’s goal is to allow workers to use more tools with fewer batteries, leading to less material usage and waste production. Beyond the home, we’re also focusing on optimizing energy efficiency in the commercial sector, and here our portfolio goes beyond products to consulting and system solutions. Globally – as well as here in North America – we’re investing heavily in our system integration business. As we announced a few months ago, we recently acquired Canada-based Paladin Technologies, which will enable us to significantly expand our activities in North America. We’ve already built up a very strong business in the United States through our subsidiary Climatec, which continues to grow and support a variety of customers with energy-focused building optimizations. For the past 7 years, for instance, Climatec has been working with the Rowland Unified School District in Rowland Heights, California. Thanks to Climatec’s improvements including HVAC modernizations, building automation systems, LED lighting, and solar installations, the school district expects to see efficiency gains that will save them more than 38 million dollars in energy costs over the next few years. The expansion of our residential and consumer goods portfolios as well as our integrator business demonstrates our focus on profitable growth in North America. Our mobility business will also be a major part of that growth, and this in particular relates to the second prong of our energy strategy, which I’ll tell you about now. As mentioned earlier, another way we’re tackling the energy challenge is by tapping into new sources of renewable energy – specifically hydrogen. The thing is that renewable power can be generated most efficiently in the world’s sunniest and windiest regions, which is not always where it’s needed. We need a storage medium to transfer that energy between regions, and chemical carriers such as hydrogen, which is produced with electricity, offer us an excellent way to do that. At Bosch, we’re convinced that hydrogen is one of the keys to decarbonizing our energy supply. As such, we’re investing heavily in hydrogen technologies and developing solutions along the H 2 value chain. A major thrust of our efforts is the hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain , which we believe is the path to electrification for heavier vehicles. Last summer we started volume production of our fuel-cell power module in Stuttgart. We plan to supply the hydrogen powertrain system as well as important components, and we already have orders from truck makers in the U.S., Europe, and China. This week Nikola is offering rides in a truck powered by a Bosch fuel cell to experience this exciting new technology! In addition, we’re working on components for a hydrogen engine that uses the fuel directly, as opposed to first converting it into electricity. This technology can offer the performance of a diesel engine. On top of that, the climate benefit of the hydrogen engine increases even more when green hydrogen is used. It will be suitable for commercial vehicles in the on- and off-road segments, such as heavy-duty long-haul trucks and construction machinery. As a systems provider for hydrogen engines, we’re currently developing solutions for both port and direct injection. A first H 2 engine with our components is due to debut this year. Around the globe, investment in hydrogen technologies is slowly starting to pick up speed. In this regard, the U.S. is setting a great example. On the public side, the federal government is driving forward the buildup of an H 2 infrastructure and has made 7 billion dollars available for establishing so-called hydrogen hubs across the country. Including sources of private investment, the amount of funding available has surpassed 50 billion dollars, which is kickstarting a lot of activity. At Bosch, we’re committed to helping drive forward the clean-energy economy in North America, which is why we’re currently engaged with multiple hubs to identify projects where we can contribute our technological expertise in both the production and provisioning of hydrogen. And as our business in the area of hydrogen production develops, we’re actively exploring local manufacturing to support it. So, on one hand we’re enhancing energy efficiency and driving forward electrification. On the other we’re pursuing hydrogen as a more sustainable power source. A common theme across all our areas of business is our comprehensive use of software and digitalization to optimize existing solutions as well as create new ones. Our expertise in this area no longer represents a niche in our portfolio, but by now underpins nearly every solution in it. Bosch is one of the few high-tech innovators that is equally at home in the worlds of things and data; our global software engineering workforce currently numbers more than 44,000. Here as well, we are driven by our “Invented for life” ethos, which in practice means that we’re leveraging the power of data and algorithms to enhance comfort and convenience as well as efficiency and sustainability. In the mobility domain, software is a key enabler of achieving the goals of future mobility that is more sustainable. We’re so committed to this vision of mobility that we’re realigning our entire mobility business to facilitate it – by positioning ourselves more than ever before as a software company for mobility, and by strengthening our cross-divisional collaboration. In our role as the world’s largest automotive supplier, we’re leading the way toward the software-defined vehicle – a vehicle that is electrified, automated, and connected, and can tap into a wide range of digital mobility services that enhance efficiency, performance, and convenience. Especially when it comes to developing useful and beneficial services for the software-defined vehicle, we’re firm believers in bringing as much expertise on board as possible. This is why we’re working with partners across the automotive landscape to realize new and innovative solutions for our customers. A great example of this is our collaboration with Amazon Web Services to develop some useful cross-domain in-vehicle functions and services that repurpose driver assistance technology in new ways. I’d like to welcome Wendy Bauer, vice president and general manager of automotive and manufacturing at AWS, to join me in telling you more about what we’re working on together. Guest appearance by Wendy Bauer, vice president and general manager of automotive & manufacturing at AWS: We are indeed working on some very exciting new functions and services and look forward to sharing the benefits of the cloud with the industry and everyday users around the world. The innovation areas are broad, ranging from vehicle technology, to logistics with the L.OS platform, and smart home devices. Tanja Rückert: For instance, take the connected, fully automatic, bean-to-cup espresso machine Bosch is debuting here at CES. It’s pretty cool on its own – it was a CES Innovation Honoree in the Smart Home category – but together, we’re working to connect it to driver drowsiness detection. Wendy Bauer: We’ve all been there – you’re on your way home from running errands and you’re exhausted. What if your car could recognize you might be tired and automatically takes action? Now, with the functions enabled by the cloud and software-defined vehicles, your car can pre-empt your needs. Before you can even think about stopping to grab some coffee, an in-vehicle voice assistance like Amazon Alexa asks if you need a caffeinated pick-me-up. Why yes, you respond, after CES… a triple-shot cappuccino would be nice. And what do you know: 10 minutes later, as you open your front door, your coffee machine is putting on the final flourish of foam. Tanja Rückert: And for the times when you can’t make it home for refreshment, we’re developing what we’re calling our point-of-interest assistant. Here, our Bosch vehicle interior monitoring camera monitors your gaze while you’re driving and automatically identifies things you look at – for example, a particular restaurant or coffee shop. Wendy Bauer: Thanks to the real-time power of the cloud, with technologies such as AI, generative AI, and access to a host of the leading foundational models, you can ask your voice assistant, if the place is open and how busy it is, without even needing to specify the name of the establishment you’re looking at. In real time, it will let you know if it’s worth a stop or if you’re better off going somewhere else along your route, thus saving you time as well as unnecessary driving. Tanja Rückert: Now that would be useful, wouldn’t it? Thanks to our collaboration, these are just a couple of the features we could see in our vehicles soon. It’s clear that no one company can realize the future of mobility on its own. This is why it’s so important that we collaborate across the industry. Wendy Bauer: At AWS we see collaboration as a key to the industry’s advancement and success. By working together, we’ll be able to achieve the future of mobility faster than ever before. Tanja Rückert: Still on the subject of vehicles and digitalization, here at CES we’re also debuting two new mobility services that harness the cloud to cut costs and enhance sustainability. One is a new addition to our battery-in-the-cloud service portfolio: Usage Certificate To Go is a retrofit solution which draws on our extensive expertise in battery modeling. By analyzing battery data uploaded to the cloud from an OBD2 dongle, the service can determine a battery’s precise state of health and help users to prolong their battery life by up to 20 percent. Our new cloud-based Vehicle Health Service s are aimed at fleet operators: they offer tools such as predictive diagnostics to facilitate more efficient vehicle condition monitoring and preventive maintenance to avoid vehicle breakdowns and increase fleet utilization. Both these new service offerings can ultimately help prolong vehicle life and optimize resource use. And when it comes to harnessing digitalization to optimize mobility generally, I can’t leave out a mention of our eBike business. Across the board, we’re using cloud-based connectivity to enhance the electric biking experience. For instance, over-the-air updates via our eBike Flow app enable users to keep their ebike system up to date and improve it continuously with new features and upgrades. Connectivity also underpins a whole suite of digital services, such as our eBike Lock and our eBike Alarm solution, which alerts you to any suspicious movement and also enables location tracking in case of theft. We’re continuously growing our eBike portfolio, as you can see at our booth, above all because we’re committed to making eBikes a viable and attractive piece of the urban mobility puzzle. While greater sustainability might be an add-on benefit for many of our digital service solutions, for others it’s the main objective. We already told you how we’re lowering energy usage in commercial buildings via our system integration solutions. We’re also harnessing digitalization to achieve efficiency gains in this domain. Our Building Technologies division, for example, recently added a new energy-focused service for the European market to its suite for digital commercial building management. Modular, customizable, and compatible with old and new buildings alike, the Nexospace Energy Manager uses cloud-based data analytics to evaluate the efficiency of energy supply, distribution, and use. On this basis, it suggests concrete measures that can be taken to reduce consumption. One of our current clients is the German-owned international supermarket chain REWE. Based on our software’s suggestions, they’re seeing their energy usage slashed by up to 20 percent across more than 2,000 of their stores. We’re also leveraging digital technologies in combination with our expertise in low-emissions manufacturing to help others in the industrial sector reduce their carbon footprint. At the heart of Decarbonize Industries, a digital decarbonization planning service we offer together with a partner, is powerful AI-supported data analytics. At Bosch, we know from experience that traditional roadmaps to decarbonization take months or even years to draw up – our data-based approach, however, can generate a concrete plan in minutes. Available on a subscription basis, this service is already on track to help our customers in Germany significantly reduce both CO 2 emissions and costs thanks to efficiency gains, and we’re currently laying the groundwork for rolling out the platform in other regions. Our energy challenges are not going to be solved overnight, but one thing is clear: we can’t afford not to act. For the sake of our planet, we must end our reliance on fossil fuels, and we must do it quickly. At the same time, unrealistic targets will get us nowhere – we must focus on solutions that are feasible as well as affordable. If history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a seemingly unlimited appetite for energy. What is not inevitable, however, is that our carbon footprint must keep growing too. By driving forward electrification, switching to cleaner and renewable sources of power, and maximizing energy efficiency, we can meet our ever-increasing needs in a way that is sustainable for society and the planet. Doing so, however, will require effort, investment, and the right policy framework. Another crucial piece of the puzzle is technology. Here, we’re already hard at work on innovative new solutions that are helping us reduce the footprints of our vehicles, homes, and industries while we lay the foundations for a climate-neutral energy supply. At Bosch, we’re committed to using technology as a tool for shaping a brighter tomorrow. Come visit our booth this week and see how our “Invented for life” solutions are helping to bring us a step closer to our vision of sustainable, unlimited energy for everyone. Thank you! Presskit #BoschCES 2024 Event #BoschCES 2024

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Hardware and software, alone and in combination: Bosch has everything it takes f ...

04.09.2023

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Hardware and software, alone and in combination: Bosch has everything it takes f ...

Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management, Robert Bosch GmbH, and Dr. Markus Heyn, chairman of the Mobility business sector, at the IAA press conference on September 4, 2023 Check against delivery.Ladies and gentlemen, As the video just showed, the way we drive in the future will be different. Together with our customers and associates, but also with policymakers and the general public, we want to shape the future of mobility. This is summed up in the motto: “Let’s shape the new era of mobility, together.” Yet we are fully aware that the focus of interest at this year’s IAA is not just cars, but also protests against driving. We have no problem with criticism of the automotive industry. But that criticism should be fair. Electromobility is becoming a core business for us. We want sustainable mobility, and above all we want to make it affordable – this is the only way it will succeed in the market. The transformation of our business is no simple task, but we are devoting all our energy to tackling it, with the interests of our customers in mind. What this also means is that we are positioning ourselves more than ever before as a software company for mobility – in addition to our strengths in hardware. You could say that the vehicles of the future will be as much at home in the cloud as on the roads. In this context, not only hardware will be vital, but also the smooth interaction of software from various sources. And this is precisely why, in our reorganized Mobility business sector, we are strengthening cross-divisional collaboration. We are also assigning horizontal responsibility for software, vehicle computers, and semiconductors. All this is making good progress. The ultimate objective is an ambitious one: we want to use Bosch technology to bring about the software-defined vehicle. Even now, we offer solutions across all the domains of automotive software engineering, from control units to the cloud. We will hear more about this later from my colleague Markus Heyn. But before that, I would like to outline the current market situation. What we can see here is that Bosch is growing rapidly, but also investing heavily in the future of mobility. Business situation: Rapid growth coupled with substantial upfront investments However, we are witnessing volatile market developments in 2023 as well. While automotive production grew slightly in the first half of the year, these gains are now fading. The consequences of the war will accompany us for some time yet, especially the uncertainty as concerns energy and raw materials. In addition, inflation is placing a burden on purchasing power, especially in Europe and the United States. Our Mobility business sector is not immune to these developments, even if it is growing faster than the industry. Adjusted for exchange-rate effects, we expect it to grow by roughly 10 percent in 2023. And while this also includes price effects, we are above all posting strong increases in volume as a result of rollouts, such as the new generation of our ESP anti-skid system. This year and beyond, we are making heavy upfront investments in the transformation of mobility – in areas such as software, electric driving, and automated driving. On the whole, the transformation of our industry presents us – just like other companies – with a dual task: On the one hand, we have to find viable prospects for our workforce and give them the skills they need. On this subject, the works agreement we recently concluded for our German locations is a good start. On the other hand, we have to remain at the cutting edge of technology. This applies above all to our efforts to create the software-defined vehicle. En route to tomorrow’s mobility: thinking through the implications of the software-defined vehicle However, Bosch software is not only changing the way we drive, but also how we manufacture vehicles. We are more than an automotive supplier. With our industrial technology, we can support the automotive industry along the entire value chain. So before we turn to the car itself, let’s look at three examples. First, we secure automotive supply chains. Our track and trace solution allows us to pinpoint the position and condition of transport crates in real time. We are now equipping 260,000 transport carriers at BMW with this solution, so that important powertrain components can be reliably and securely tracked. Second, we are digitally connecting automotive production. For example, battery-cell factories still have a scrappage rate of between 10 and 15 percent. Our Nexeed Industry 4.0 software helps significantly reduce this wastage. In the future, it will be deployed in VW cell factories. Third, we are applying artificial intelligence to automotive production, where it can detect anomalies and defects at an early stage. At Bosch, our MAS manufacturing analytics solution is already in use in 50 plants. At our location in Bursa, Turkey, for example, AI has helped lower manufacturing costs significantly. But now for the software-defined vehicle itself. This requires a new, centralized IT and electronic architecture. Bosch is one of the few companies that is developing such an architecture – from the cloud, to core onboard computers, to chips. We are the foremost company in the automotive industry that makes semiconductors itself. Moreover, we produce a large share of these chips in collaboration with partners. Together with TSMC, Infineon, and NXP, we only very recently announced that we will be investing in a joint venture in Dresden. Our common objective is a new factory to meet the growing demand for chips in the car of the future. We are posting rapid growth in our business with onboard computers. As early as 2026, we expect computers for driver assistance and infotainment to generate sales of more than 3 billion euros. And we know how to control the interaction between automotive electronics and the internet of things. Connectivity will be a standard feature of the next vehicle generation, which will debut in the market in the second half of this decade. In this context, we foresee not only a tripling of software applications, but also a tenfold increase in the number of applications accessing the cloud. In this future form of mobility, Bosch no longer sees itself solely as a supplier of systems and components. More than ever, we will also be automakers’ software partner. For this purpose, our Mobility business sector alone employs 38,000 software engineers – the biggest team of its kind in the industry. In our approach to the software-defined vehicle, we go further than others. This sets us apart from many tech players, who hardwire computer cores from consumer electronics with automotive software functions. This creates technological dependencies that, if at all possible, we want to avoid in the interest of the industry. This is why, for the most part, Bosch software is hardware-agnostic, and runs on chips made by different manufacturers. One way we make this possible is through our new middleware solution for driver assistance and automated driving systems, which helps disengage software applications from their underlying hardware. In addition, it is more important than ever to integrate software from diverse sources. Here as well, Bosch can contribute specialist expertise. Take infotainment systems, where the share of third-party software is in the region of 90 percent. Here, Bosch makes it possible for software packages to interact flexibly, regardless of their origin. And it does so on time for customers such as a globally operating automaker that has to manage 200 new rollouts each year. We are currently growing 25 percent annually with infotainment systems – twice as fast as the market. We also want to use our experience to accelerate software development along the automotive industry value chain. For this purpose, we are now setting up a collaborative platform that developers from various companies can use to continuously test and integrate function changes. This is already a standard feature in the IT industry – our solution is the first time it has been used in the automotive industry. We are already using the platform to work with other suppliers, and are also offering automakers the opportunity to do so. Fundamentally speaking, the software-defined vehicle will mean that new functions, such as those for driver assistance, appear on our roads faster. They will arrive via software updates, independently of hardware development. As a result, vehicles will be just like new, even after many years. Yet even software is “Invented for life,” as we say at Bosch. After all, in very concrete terms, it makes mobility safer and more sustainable. And that is my cue to hand over to my colleague Markus Heyn... Electromobility: Bosch offers solutions for every stage of value creation … Many thanks, Stefan. I’d like to start with a very concrete manifestation of sustainable mobility – electromobility. We are doing everything in our power to ramp it up, also with new software solutions. Generally speaking, our electromobility business is doing well – I could also say: it’s charged up. We’re well on track to achieving our target of 6 billion euros sales revenue by 2026. Even last year, we were able to increase our output of components for electric driving by some 50 percent. This year, production of electric motors alone will double. As early as the fall, we will be starting volume production of a new 800-volt powertrain and inverter – a system in which the battery can be recharged twice as fast as before. Whether in technology or business, Bosch wants to be a frontrunner in electromobility as well. In this context, software is the key to further enhancing convenience and sustainability. In the electric car itself, it aids connected energy and thermal management that predictively gets the battery up to the right temperature when it needs charging. Through this measure alone, the time taken to recharge is cut by as much as 20 percent. One new feature is the efficient distribution of electrical and thermal energy between the battery, the powertrain, and the air conditioning system during driving. For drivers, it not just convenience that is important, but also security when recharging. Together with the startup Fetch AI, Bosch is developing a digital passport for the electric car – independent of central data platforms. This software package means data privacy when accessing the charging network. It also makes new services possible, such as an AI-assisted traffic forecast to make the search for a charge point even simpler. Above all, what will really make electromobility sustainable is when raw materials such as lithium and cobalt can be recovered. Here as well, Bosch software can play a part. In automated recycling systems, it can identify not only the origin and condition of the batteries, but also control the process steps. In this way, the battery packs can be dismantled quickly and safely. The demand for such circular-economy solutions is growing. By 2030, the annual recycling capacity for battery materials will have risen from 50 to 420 kilotons. This is just another example of how Bosch is active along the entire electromobility value chain. In fact, our diversity here is unmatched by any other automotive supplier – with technology ranging from chips to e-axles, from e-bikes to trucks, for batteries and fuel cells. And Bosch’s role in all this is a dual one, as a supplier of both hardware and software. The one begets the other. Automated driving: Bosch is launching video software that runs on any chip Our accident protection systems offer an even better example of how hardware and software engineering are becoming separated, yet are also mutually beneficial. Our new ESP generation is a particularly striking case in point. It is more than a modified piece of hardware. The real innovation is to be found in the software, in the shape of Vehicle Dynamics Control 2.0. This is a new control concept that can intervene not only in the braking system, but also in the electrical powertrain and the electric steering. This will give drivers even more safety, with less countersteering and shorter braking distances. What is significant for automakers is that it can be used flexibly in the electronic architectures of the future: the new control system can be integrated in both a central vehicle computer and the ESP control unit, and will in the future be available as a discrete software package. It will be part of vehicle motion management, a software that coordinates all aspects of vehicle motion by centrally controlling the brakes, steering, powertrain, and chassis. Not least, this takes us one step closer to automated driving. Bosch was quick to recognize the technological and business opportunities offered along the journey to this goal. With driver assistance systems, we will again post double-digit growth this year. And over the past five years, we have more than doubled our engineering capacity for assisted and automated driving. The innovations we are presenting at this year’s IAA are evidence of the flexible customization of hardware and software. For example, our new generation of radar sensors works with artificial intelligence. This allows the sensors to detect and classify obstacles even more precisely and distinctly, including smaller objects such as motorbikes, whose reflection is only weak. One of the video sensors we offer is new camera heads whose intelligence can be reassigned to central vehicle computers. And with video perception, we are premiering a purely software solution. It allows a vehicle’s surround sensing to be designed flexibly – whether to the front of the vehicle or with a 360-degree belt. In this way, regardless of the hardware they use, automakers will be able to implement new safety and convenience functions faster. Finally, in the shape of the ADAS integration platform, we are launching a vehicle computer that acts as the “brain” of automated driving and parking functions. The platform can be regarded as a modular kit that is compatible with proprietary and third-party hardware and software. Above all, because it can integrate systems on chips from various manufacturers, it is flexible. Once again, the decisive factor here is that Bosch software runs on any chip. Bosch services for mobility service providers: making the operation of vehicle fleets even more efficient The examples I have given show how rapidly automotive engineering is changing – and Bosch is one of the drivers of this development, always with the interests of its customers firmly in its sights. But when we speak about software-defined mobility, we see more than just individual vehicles. Our new RideCare Connected Rent cloud solution allows mobility service providers to operate their fleets even more efficiently. Once they have rented out their vehicles, they automatically receive information about things such as battery status and also damage, for which the fault can then be unequivocally apportioned. This offers two main advantages: more efficiency for service providers, and more transparency for users. The new solution is already being trialed by rental companies. Initial experience suggests that it saves up to 150 euros per month and vehicle. By the end of the decade, Bosch wants to equip more than 2 million vehicles with it. Here as well, it becomes clear that, in the mobility of the future, Bosch will be a byword for both hardware and software solutions. And whenever we speak of software, we always also mean services that help people get from A to B more easily. As we embark on a journey into a new era of mobility, we can contribute our wide-ranging expertise. To quote our introductory video: “Let’s move like a Bosch!” Press kit IAA 2023 Eventpage IAA 2023

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13.07.2023

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Growing with hydrogen

Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management, Robert Bosch GmbH, and Dr. Markus Heyn, chairman of the Mobility business sector, at the Bosch Tech Day on July 13, 2023, in Stuttgart-Feuerbach Check against delivery.Ladies and gentlemen, Geographically, Auto Shanghai and Hannover Messe may be a long way apart, but they’ve never been as interrelated as they were this year. At the Bosch booths in China and in Germany, there was one subject that dominated discussion: hydrogen. We are among the few companies that people expect to come up with solutions – solutions for the generation and application of H 2 that can quickly go into volume production. This is precisely what we are working on – worldwide, and in the heart of Europe. Here in Stuttgart-Feuerbach as well, in our oldest manufacturing plant, the hydrogen future is about to happen. Today, it will see the symbolic start of volume production of our fuel-cell power-train system. This is why we have called today’s media event, to which I would like to offer you a warm welcome. We want to show that Bosch knows its way around hydrogen, and Bosch is growing with hydrogen. With our H 2 technologies, we want to generate sales of some 5 billion euros by 2030. We are developing our solutions along the entire H 2 value chain. Before we go any further, we want to give you a quick explanation of the technology. But don’t worry, this won’t be a science lesson. To put it briefly: in a fuel cell, we generate electricity from hydrogen – in the mobile version with proton exchange membranes, and in the stationary version using solid-oxide technology. The mobile versions are used above all in trucks, while the stationary versions can supply power to computing centers or even urban districts. What’s so special about this? Both processes can be reversed, and in their reversed roles they are suitable for electrolysis: in other words, they can produce hydrogen using electricity. And Bosch is involved in this as well. There is obviously a lot of synergy between the respective fuel-cell and electrolysis technologies. We want to exploit this synergy. Bosch is helping to shape the hydrogen economy, but policymakers need to be faster in four respects Whether with fuel cells or electrolysis, Bosch is helping to shape the hydrogen economy. That will help us develop new business worldwide, and also to secure jobs in our plants – we always have both things in mind. For example, the production of mobile fuel-cell systems is getting underway both in Chongqing and here in Feuerbach. Bosch is the first company to produce these systems in both China and Germany. And the components it needs come from Bamberg, Homburg, and Wuxi. When it comes to hydrogen as well, we are opting for a global manufacturing network right from the start. We are planning to include our Anderson plant in South Carolina as well in the future. Especially in the initial phases, the prowess of our German locations will be vital in this network. But what is the long-term outlook? How good a chance do we have of not just kick-starting hydrogen in Germany und Europe, but also of creating enduring growth with hydrogen? The answer to this de-pends on whether the political conditions are right. I want to elaborate on this in more detail, since it is these conditions that enable the suc-cess of hydrogen technologies in Germany and in global competition in the first place. In principle, all of us want to be climate neutral – but this won’t be pos-sible without hydrogen. True, the main thrust of the energy transition is in the electrification of vehicles and heating systems, and Bosch is playing a role here as well. But renewable power can be generated especially efficiently in the world’s sunniest and windiest regions, not where its industrial centers are to be found. So how can we get green energy from where it is generated to where it is used? Not by means of transmission, but by using chemical carriers, and in particular hydrogen and its derivatives. Worldwide, the move from the carbon to the hydrogen economy will be decisive in the fight against climate change. This fight is a historic task. Yet we have to shift up a gear, here and now, also in Germany. We are glad to have very recently received notification of funding for our stationary fuel-cell technology. But when it comes to hydrogen, we still haven’t got up to the new “German speed” in every area. The United States is getting on with things faster. There, the Inflation Reduction Act is heavily subsidizing the resources for ramping up the hydrogen economy. Leaving China aside, interest in H 2 technologies is growing by leaps and bounds outside Europe. Europe itself has great ambitions, but we can observe worrying contradictions between ideals and reality. Four points are important for us. First, we have to step up the pace of hydrogen production in Europe. This is being hampered at present – above all by strict criteria for electricity procurement. Neither China nor the U.S. have such criteria. One example is the principle of additionality that allows green electricity for electrolyzers to be procured solely from additional wind and solar power plants. Clearly, the priority for the EU is for electricity from renewables to be used directly in applications such as cars or heating systems. But here we have to ask why electrolyzers even have to furnish proof of origin of the green electricity they use, while it is of no concern at all where the electricity for electric cars and heat pumps comes from. Such treatment is anything but equal. Above all, a regulation like this won’t stimulate hydrogen production. The EU is not doing itself any favors here. To go some way toward offsetting this competitive advantage, investment and operating costs need to be heavily subsidized, at least in the ramp-up phase. Second, international hydrogen supply chains need to be set up. Here as well, there are still obstacles to be overcome. Worldwide, hydrogen can best be transported using derivatives such as methanol, which is created by synthesizing hydrogen and carbon. But when importing these derivatives, the EU calls for effective carbon pricing in the countries of origin – without having defined the criteria more closely. This is an important point, as only very few countries have so far introduced such a pricing system. Under conditions such as these, there is one thing potential investors will be reluctant to do – and that is invest. This is worrying, since Europe wants to cover half its hydrogen requirements through partnerships with other world regions by 2030. The International Energy Agency estimates that African countries can produce 5,000 megatons of H 2 annually – as much as the world’s current total energy supply. The EU has to do all it can to establish hydrogen partnerships with other continents. That is astute energy policy – and astute development policy as well. My third point is an appeal to use hydrogen in all sectors of the economy. While it is true that H 2 is indispensable for climate-neutral chemical and steel plants, purely electrical solutions also come up against their limits in the transportation and building sectors. The older the building, the less economic sense a heat pump makes. The longer the route to be driven, the less sense a battery-only powertrain makes. It is not just ships and airplanes, but also trucks that need H 2 -based fuels. In transportation and buildings, therefore, our maxim when it comes to electrification and hydrogen solutions is not either/or, but both/and. Last not least, infrastructure for distributing hydrogen has to be created in Europe. There are many ways to transport green molecules: by pipeline, by truck, by ship. In the EU as well, we need to interconnect our centers of energy supply and energy consumption better. This is necessary for things such as the H 2 operation of stationary fuel cells in micropower plants. And not least, we need a network of hydrogen filling stations, oriented to the needs of trucks. This will not come about without a supportive framework. Whether in Europe or the U.S., it is up to the government to take us toward the hydrogen economy by resolving the “chicken-and-egg problem” of infrastructure and market development. Without H 2 trucks there can be no H 2 pumps, and without H 2 pumps, no H 2 trucks – it is blindingly obvious that governments have to take the initiative here. All in all, Europe has to do much more in order to become not just “H 2 ready,” but also “H 2 competitive.” That said, there are some positive signs, such as the promotion of research – the support granted for our stationary fuel-cell technology as part of the IPCEI program aims to do precisely this. And in its regulations for hydrogen production, the EU Commission has made some concessions to industry by relaxing a few rules. However, the planned review clause is crucial. As quickly as possible, we need a review of how electricity-procurement criteria affect H 2 production costs, and thus Europe’s competitiveness. Worldwide, the level playing field for the hydrogen economy is being staked out, and here as well, Europe has to create a counterweight to the dynamic developments in the United States. It’s high time we started to sprint. But in all this, what is Bosch doing? For the answer to that question, I’ll hand over to my colleague Markus Heyn... Bosch is commercializing hydrogen technologies, the fuel-cell power module is now going into production …many thanks Stefan! My message is clear: Bosch is entering the hydrogen economy in earnest. The clearest sign of this is our upfront investments. Between 2021 and 2026, we will have invested a total of nearly 2.5 billion euros in the development and manufacturing of our H 2 technologies. Of this amount, nearly two thirds will have gone into the fuel-cell powertrain. By as early as 2030, it is expected that one in five new trucks weighing six tons or more will feature such a powertrain. In addition, we are working on a hydrogen engine that will be suitable above all for agricultural and construction machinery, but also for heavy long-haul trucks. As Stefan Hartung has already underlined, we are occupying many fields along the entire H 2 value chain. This also means that we will supply stacks for hydrogen production, and in doing so enter the electrolysis market, which is expected to have a global volume of 26 billion euros by 2030. And we also want to use stationary fuel-cell technology for distributed energy systems, where the global market volume is expected to be 20 billion euros by 2030. So our business opportunities are enormous, and the effects of this entry into the hydrogen economy on jobs are no less important. Even now, we have more than 3,000 people at Bosch working on hydrogen technologies, more than half of them in Europe. And whether this figure rises depends in its turn on the political conditions Stefan Hartung just outlined. The important thing here is that our commitment to electrolysis and fuel cells is helping us transform our core business. We can fill most of the vacancies arising in the emerging hydrogen business from within the company, and especially with people who have so far worked in our powertrain business. More than that, we can transfer expertise from the one area to the other. Whether diesel or hydrogen technology, Bosch can rely in both instances on two essential core competencies. On the one hand, there is our systems know-how – our ability to control many components with sensor technology and complex electronics. On the other hand, there is commercialization – the ability to scale up a new development quickly into volume production. Fundamentally speaking, Bosch can apply unrivalled automotive experience to the hydrogen economy. This is why we are also in demand in H 2 production, where we are new to the market. Plenty of companies can build electrolysis stacks in the laboratory. But only very few are capable of mass producing such stacks. Specifically, we can use and modify processes from the manufacture of diesel and gasoline systems for the production of fuel cells. For example, laser welding is something we are familiar with from injector production. And whether in coating technology or leak testing, a technology transfer is possible. But none of this is any use unless complex processes can be controlled. This is the reason why we manufacture so much in-house. Over the long term as well, we want more than half of the fuel cell powertrain by value to be created internally. Not least, this also involves our traditional strength in making special-purpose machinery. This means we can cover more than 50 percent of the manufacturing equipment we need. Our capabilities are also in evidence in the finer details. Let me give you two outstanding examples. This first is high-speed laser welding. We use it to make 1,200 meters of welds in each stack of our mobile fuel-cell systems hydrogen-tight. This is a process that only exists at Bosch. Then there is laser drilling. We use it to make more than 200 million holes – 6,000 a second – in each stack of a stationary fuel-cell system. In the transition to the hydrogen economy as well, we can see that the concrete solutions developed to mitigate global warming depend on thorough technological knowledge. And it is this knowledge that Bosch can contribute. On a final note, I would like to give you a rundown of where we stand at present. First, as concerns hydrogen production. At the start of the year, Bosch started constructing prototypes for electrolysis using proton exchange membranes – in other words, the reverse of the energy conversion method used in mobile fuel cells. In a first step, we have produced 150 kilowatt stacks, and from the fall we will supply 1.25 megawatt prototypes for pilot applications. This means we are on course to start production in 2025. We are entering the market as a supplier of stacks, but will also supply sensors, controls, and the necessary services. Our lead plant is Bamberg, yet especially in electrolysis, global supply chains are crucial. What customers want is clear: they want to see the economies of scale that come from high-volume production – and this is what Bosch stands for. Moreover, hydrogen production is an important area of study for our R&D teams. In 2024, together with our partners Ceres Power and Linde, we will also trial solid-oxide electrolysis in a demonstrator project. And that brings me to the subject of stationary fuel cells, which are also based on solid-oxide technology. They can be used in distributed energy supplies – not just in the form of electricity, but also as heat. For example, in a pilot project at the hospital in Erkelenz, near Cologne in Germany, we will achieve overall efficiency of 90 percent. A micropower plant like this starts off with natural gas, but can be converted to green hydrogen. This will take us gradually toward climate neutrality. We want to start volume production of this technology in the middle of this decade. Not least, we can use our expertise in functional ceramics when manufacturing these stationary fuel-cell stacks. We developed this expertise when manufacturing lambda sensors for vehicles. On the subject of mobile applications, we can not only convert hydrogen into electricity using the fuel-cell powertrain, but also use hydrogen directly as a fuel. Such a hydrogen engine can do everything a diesel engine does, but on top of that, it is practically carbon neutral. This is a quick and cost-efficient way into the mobile use of hydrogen, since we can use more than 90 percent of our existing engineering and manufacturing technologies. Hydrogen engines are particularly suitable for heavy vehicles on long hauls with especially heavy payloads. Bosch is developing two systems for these engines: port and direct injection of hydrogen. The biggest technological challenge is the injector for direct injection. Unlike in a diesel engine, it has to work without any lubrication from the fuel, and yet, just like in a diesel engine, still be capable of opening and closing billions of times over. Our engineers are in the process of solving this problem without any additional oil being emitted. Nobody else in the world has managed this so far. The H 2 engine is expected to be launched starting in 2024. Even now, Bosch has four orders for production projects from all the major economic regions. By the end of the decade, production may run into the hundreds of thousands. Finally, ladies and gentlemen, there is the fuel-cell powertrain. Here, we are starting volume production. We can deliver the power-train system as well as important components, whether the stack, the hydrogen metering valve, or the electric air compressor. We have four production orders for the complete system, and further orders for our components. In our exhibition, you can take a look at the truck of our customer Nikola Iveco. All in all, we are supplying truck makers in China, the U.S., and Europe. Our system has already clocked 2 million kilometers in pilot operation at our customers’. In addition, we have established an international manufacturing network. Back in 2022, for example, stacks went into production in Bamberg and Wuxi. In both plants, we will have manufactured stacks with a total output of one gigawatt by the middle of the decade. Moreover, the production of complete powertrain systems is now getting underway, both here in Feuerbach and in Chongqing. In the initial stages, we will manufacture several thousand systems in total each year. We believe that the market will initially show the strongest development in China. But regardless of this, we are officially beginning volume production of our fuel-cell powertrain system here today. Together with Stefan Hartung and Thomas Pauer, the president of our powertrain division, I would now like to symbolically get production started. Please join me here on stage. It’s only a flick of a switch, but for us it’s the start of a new and exciting area of business. Bosch will now be synonymous with hydrogen!

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Onwards: Bosch is accelerating its growth in all regions and sectors

04.05.2023

Presentations

Bosch Group

Onwards: Bosch is accelerating its growth in all regions and sectors

Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Dr. Markus Forschner, member of the board of management and chief financial officer of Robert Bosch GmbH, at the annual press conference on May 4, 2023 Check against delivery.Ladies and gentlemen, Even if the title of our annual report seems to point to better times ahead, “onwards” does not imply that we can simply leave today’s crises behind us. On the contrary: even this annual press conference, to which I offer you a warm welcome, is taking place during a war in Ukraine that shows no sign of ending. Energy scarcity, supply shortages, and inflation also remain unresolved, and mitigating global warming remains a gargantuan task. No doubt about it: we are going through challenging times characterized by overlapping crises. Yet Bosch still managed to navigate its way through 2022 with higher than expected sales growth and a slightly improved margin. Nonetheless, 2023 looks set to be an equally challenging year. So why choose the term “onwards”? Because difficult times do not prevent us from looking to the future. And instead of simply waiting for better times, we are doing everything in our power to bring them about. So what is it that lifts our gaze beyond the crises that currently confront us? First and foremost, it is our strategic imperative “Invented for life”. It is a fitting ethos for a time in which humanity must rise to the challenge of combating climate change. This is causing considerable economic and social upheaval, and accelerating technological change. Obviously, technology cannot solve all the world’s problems. But it can make a major contribution to climate action, helping to transform our energy systems, our mobility, and, ultimately, our entire living environment. This offers new growth potential for Bosch, but also requires that the company completely reinvent itself. The opportunities ahead of us are enormous. It comes down to two cru-cial points that we must focus on: First, we have to be innovative. That means mobilizing and maintaining the performance and creativity of our associates. It also means building engineering centers, factories, and infrastructure to bring about innovations worldwide. At the same time, we have to be profitable. In other words, we need economic clout. Particularly for Bosch, it is crucial to maintain the balance between economic performance and environmental and social aims. Specifically, we must seize growth opportunities through upfront investments and capital expenditure on the one hand, while maintaining cost discipline and using capital resources highly efficiently on the other. This, too, is essential to our understanding of “onwards” – moving forward with courage and strength, but also with discipline and efficiency. As we move forward, we are aware that the fight against climate change is causing a profound transformation – a transformation that can be seen from two different perspectives. This fight is a global growth program for new technologies, and we are witnessing a profusion of innovations entering the market, from new semiconductors and sensors to artificial intelligence. But that’s only one side of the story. The other is the displacement of tried and tested technologies. The significant reduction in the use of internal combustion engines in the future will have consequences for Bosch. We have to ready ourselves for the corresponding EU legislation. This is causing anxiety among our associates – we understand that. It’s also one of the reasons why we wish to achieve balanced growth worldwide. One-third of our capital expenditure in 2022 went into Asia Pacific, but we also invested the same amount in Germany. And our decision to expand our business in North America does not mean we have to neglect other parts of the world. We can do more than one thing at the same time – all in all, this will make our regional presence more robust. Diversification is also the key to our growth strategy for the various business sectors. We still have ample potential to exploit in our existing areas of business, but we can also supplement that with business in adjacent fields and, equally importantly, in new ones. Before I provide some examples to illustrate this point, my colleague Markus Forschner will give you a brief overview of our current business situation ... Description of the business situation in 2022 and 2023 by Dr. Markus Forschner Ladies and gentlemen, Business-wise as well, Bosch faces considerable challenges. These include continuing high prices in the raw material and energy markets, which are helping to push inflation higher, as well as a mediocre economic outlook for the current year. Supply chains also remain impaired, especially in the semiconductor segment. Despite this challenging environment, we have taken crucial steps to prepare the ground and ensure Bosch’s business success, both short- and long-term. We want to be a global technology company that leads the way in multiple sectors, and we want to accelerate our growth. Stefan Hartung will explain this more in a moment. But for me as chief financial officer, this means we have to maintain the delicate balance between capital expenditure and cost discipline. We are investing considerable sums in the future and thus also in our current growth, which is being driven by the transformation toward decarbonization and digitalization. So far, this is going well. Ensuring our ability to deliver is crucial to maintaining that. To achieve this, however, we also need to be more profitable. We also need to economize as we grow, to reduce inventories, and to ensure that our capital resources are used highly efficiently. Only then can we maintain our fundamentally conservative financial policy and our sound financial health, which is the basis of our financial independence. Achieving this balance is no easy task. It asks a great deal of our executives and associates, who are already having to deal with the crises of recent years. Strategic decisions and innovations are required, as well as many task forces, rigorous cost discipline, and the efficient use of capital. What’s more, it is a task that requires us to make constant adjustments, if only because of the significant volatility and pace of market developments. Our 2022 financial statements once again demonstrated Bosch’s ability to weather difficult times. Nonetheless, last year’s crises also left their mark on our business figures. Since the financial statements do not differ fundamentally from the preliminary figures already published, I only wish to highlight a few points by way of example. The full figures can be found in your press kit and in the annual report. In 2022, despite the challenging environment, our sales rose by 12 percent to 88.2 billion euros, with volume, exchange-rate, and price effects all contributing to this higher-than-expected figure. Like many others, we were forced to pass on increased costs to our customers in the form of higher prices. This is no easy thing to do, especially in the mobility business. We achieved double-digit growth in all our business sectors, with the exception of Consumer Goods. Mobility Solutions posted strong growth despite ongoing chip shortages and the consequent sluggish increase in automotive production, which rose to 85 million units. Industrial Technology benefited from a relatively stable machinery market, while Energy and Building Technology took advantage of a number of developments, including high demand for climate-friendly heating technology. Consumer Goods saw a considerable fall in market demand following the long and extraordinary boom caused by the coronavirus pandemic, though its sales rose slightly nonetheless. Despite all the odds, we also raised our EBIT margin from operations to 4.3 percent, compared with 4 percent in the previous year. We did so in spite of increasing our research and development spending by more than we grew our sales – by 1.1 billion euros to 7.2 billion euros, or from 7.8 percent to 8.2 percent of sales. The concerted effort we put into upfront investments is also reflected in the 1-billion-euro increase in capital expenditure to 4.9 billion euros; the capex to sales ratio rose to 5.6 percent, as compared to 5 percent in the previous year. The highest margins were achieved by Industrial Technology, at 9.8 percent, and Energy and Building Technology, at 6 percent. Mobility Solutions increased its margin from operations to 3.4 percent, which was higher than expected. But this figure was considerably burdened by upfront investments in projects of future importance. Consumer Goods not only felt the effects of consumer reticence, but was also burdened by the almost complete phasing-out of its Russia business. The margin from operations fell to 4.5 percent. However, maintaining ability to deliver during a period of both great uncertainty and major investments in the company’s future was not without its consequences. We posted a negative free cash flow of 4 billion euros last year. This figure indicates that we did not use cash generated from our business operations to finance growth, but instead relied on our existing financial resources. We have the necessary resources and are in good financial health, with a very respectable equity ratio, which rose to 46.6 percent. 2023 will be another very challenging year. We view the economic climate with a certain degree of skepticism. We expect global economic growth to be just 1.7 percent, which will be a further considerable drop from the previous year’s figure of 2.9 percent. Europe is likely to be hit particularly hard, and may even fall into recession. In North America, we expect the economy to stagnate, though the possibility of a decline in economic output cannot be ruled out. Our forecast for Asia Pacific is for growth of just under 4 percent – attributable to the expected catch-up effects in China following the lifting of restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. As before, the reason for these mediocre economic prospects is high prices for energy and raw materials, though we are likely over the peak. Even so, high inflation is expected to remain a challenge not only this year, but also next year. This is forcing central banks to raise interest rates further, with a concomitant dampening effect on the economy. It is likely that these burdens will be intensified by the turbulence in the banking sector. Nonetheless, we believe that the far-reaching and widespread reforms implemented since the financial crisis mean that the financial markets are robust. The situation is not getting any easier, therefore, even with the expected benefit of catch-up effects in China. For now, however, and particularly during the first two months of 2023, we have continued to feel the economic effects of the restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the first three months of this year, according to comparable internal figures from operations, the global sales of the Bosch Group grew by a modest 3.5 percent quarter on quarter. In Asia Pacific, however, sales declined by 9.3 percent due to the restrictions in China. North America developed particularly favorably, with a double-digit increase of 18 percent. And in Europe, we also achieved reasonably good growth of 7.7 percent. For the year as a whole, we expect to see sales growth for the Bosch Group in the range of 6 to 9 percent, with the strongest growth in the Mobility Solutions and Energy and Building Technology business sectors. Ignoring any acquisitions, we expect moderate growth in the Industrial Technology business sector. It is likely that the development of sales in Consumer Goods will continue to be relatively subdued, though this is also due to considerable exchange-rate burdens. We also want to improve our margin from operations in 2023. Our objective is 5 percent – despite continuing pressure on energy, raw materials, and primary products, and even though we will spend at least as much on research and development as in the previous year. The aim is to get yet another step closer to our target margin of at least 7 percent. This will require very hard work on costs in all business sectors, including efficiency gains, especially in the indirect sphere. As in previous years, we will make structural adjustments in various areas. We are also working closely with the employee representatives on this issue. In the long term, we also aim to achieve a better margin on a lasting basis through higher rates of growth in adjacent and new areas of business. We will also further increase capital expenditure, though we are asking the business sectors to tread cautiously here. Moreover, we will do our best to return inventory levels to normal. What’s more, we will reinforce receivables management and run a critical eye over payment targets on the supplier side. Alongside improving our EBIT margin, therefore, our top priority is to become more efficient in our use of capital resources. Our goal is to achieve a sufficiently positive free cash flow – even if our aim of accelerating growth means we have to make acquisitions to strengthen our position in existing, adjacent, and new areas of business. So despite all the signs of economic slowdown, we have set ourselves an ambitious roadmap. For 2023, we are determined to achieve good progress in improving profitability and making more efficient use of capital resources, and in this way to create the financial basis for future growth. We all have a lot of work ahead of us at Bosch, but it will be worth all the effort when we consider the major market and growth opportunities ahead. Stefan Hartung is going to tell us about these, so I’ll hand the floor back to him. Presentation of long-term growth targets by Dr. Stefan Hartung Ladies and gentlemen, if we look beyond the current year, I think we can confidently say that we are on exactly the right path with our “Invented for life” strategic imperative. This applies to the major trends of electrification, automation, and digitalization, and more than ever also to the fields of software and artificial intelligence. As the technological transformation continues, it will open up new opportunities for growth that we want to seize. We can accelerate our growth in existing and adjacent areas of business, as well as in new ones. It is essential that these new areas are a good match for us – only then can we apply our strengths of in-depth technological knowledge, experience in the commercialization of innovations, and, last but not least, expertise in volume production. We also continue to add new strengths to this list – for example, the know-how of our software developers. These will soon number 50,000, an unparalleled figure for an enterprise with industrial roots. Our strategic direction is clear, and I can sum up our objectives in three key points: We want to be among the top three providers in the global and regional markets that are relevant to us. We want to be firmly and effectively positioned in every region of the world – in the Americas, southeast Asia, and India, as well as in China and Europe. Given normal inflation rates, we aim to achieve annual growth of between 6 and 8 percent, with a margin of at least 7 percent and a robust ability to self-finance. Toward the future of mobility: we are transforming our core business and achieving success I can give you examples from across the company of how we are achieving these goals. Let me start with the development of our core Mobility Solutions business – a business that will reach annual sales of 80 billion euros by 2029, but that is already in the throes of a transformation. To illustrate what I mean, let’s take the example of our braking control systems. Even though 2022 was a difficult year, we still saw this part of our business grow by more than 25 percent, which was significantly faster than the market. And ESP 10 will be going into production in the next few weeks. Now you might think that’s simply business as usual, with Bosch gaining market share and then launching a new generation of its electronic guardian angel. But this generation is far more than just an improvement to the hardware. The real innovative leap forward is in the software. Vehicle Dynamics Control 2.0 introduces a new control concept that does an even faster and more accurate job of stabilizing vehicles. It can intervene not only in the braking system, but also in the electrical powertrain and electric steering system. That represents a tangible gain in safety – with considerably less corrective action and shorter braking distances. What’s even more important for the future of our industry is that the new control system does not have to form part of the ESP control unit, but can alternatively be integrated into the central vehicle computer. Indeed, in the future, it will also be available as a standalone software package. It will be part of a vehicle motion management software solution that coordinates every aspect of vehicle motion while taking centralized control of braking, steering, the powertrain, and the chassis. This example highlights all the key trends that lead to greater safety and efficiency on the road: first, electrification and vehicle automation; second, centralization of the electronics architecture into just a few vehicle computers instead of what can currently be as many as 100 individual control units; and third, the development of the software-defined vehicle, which is fueling the greatest changes of all in our industry’s business. The opportunity to fully experience this development will come with the next vehicle generation, which will be launched in the second half of this decade. We anticipate a threefold increase in software applications and even a tenfold increase in applications that access the cloud. These may include advanced driver assistance functions as well as new charging services. So what are the advantages of this development for automakers and drivers? The software-defined vehicle offers two key benefits. First, incorporating new functions into existing systems will in the future be a matter of days instead of years, thanks to the significantly increased speed of development. Second, vehicles will continue to be “like new” years after they are delivered to the customer – a “version 2.0,” if you will. The key to this will be the decoupling of software and hardware development. This will make it easier to add new features to motor vehicles – features that arrive in the shape of software updates. This technological transformation is reflected in economic trends. For example, the overall market for automotive software is expected to be worth 200 billion euros by 2030. Everyone involved in the automotive industry is intensifying their software development activities – manufacturers and suppliers are redoubling their efforts, and tech players, too, are entering the market. Fundamentally, Bosch is well positioned – for example, with basic software that can accommodate chips made by different manufacturers. And while the software component of R&D expenditure in the automotive industry is set to reach 30 percent by 2030, it is already higher than that at Bosch today. More than half the R&D associates in the Bosch Mobility business sector are software developers. Bosch also sees itself as a mobility software company. That said, this new chapter of automotive engineering is about mastering complexity – the technical complexity of the interaction between the vehicle and cloud and the integration of software from various sources, as well as the challenging organizational and cultural complexity of collaboration between the automotive and IT industries. This requires greater interdisciplinary cooperation, including at Bosch. That’s the fundamental reason behind the reorganization of our mobility sector. Set up to address the changes in market and customer needs, the new-look business sector aims to increase communication and collaboration across former divisional boundaries. This is evident not only in the joint board and in the merger of divisions such as brake and steering systems, but also by the horizontal responsibility that, in the future, will apply to software, vehicle computers, and semiconductors. We have already taken successful steps toward the future of mobility. Here are some examples from key areas of our business: Our electromobility sales will quadruple to reach 6 billion euros by 2026. This year, our sales of electric motors for the automotive powertrain will almost double, just as they did last year. We have added 1,500 associates to the ranks of our research and development teams for driver assistance and automated driving. Most of these new associates are software developers, who see Bosch as an attractive employer. We are also on track for growth in this area. For example, our sales of driver assistance systems rose by a solid 20 percent in 2022, which was significantly faster than the market. We are working on the next service levels of these systems in collaboration with partners, such as the VW subsidiary Cariad. Last but not least, our innovations for the future of mobility start with the very smallest elements: chips. The market for automotive semiconductors is growing by almost 10 percent annually, and Bosch is growing even faster. Electrification and highly automated driving will mean that chips’ contribution to automotive value creation will more than double. Much of our focus lies on silicon carbide semiconductors, a key technology for electromobility. The market for these semiconductors will grow by an annual 35 percent between now and 2030. Over the course of the decade, we will produce silicon-carbide chips in the United States as well. On this subject, we have just announced an acquisition. We want to take over parts of the American chipmaker TSI Semiconductors, and invest nearly 1.4 billion euros locally over the years ahead. Each of these points illustrates how Bosch is still capable of leveraging growth potential even in its biggest business sector. Battery-electric mobility is already part of our core business, and other technologies are on the way to achieving that status. At the same time, Bosch is paving the way for hydrogen-based mobility, with the start of production of our fuel-cell powertrain system fast approaching. When it comes to hydrogen, we take the entire value chain into consideration. For example, we are also developing stacks for electrolysis. I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to our Bosch Tech Day in July, where we’ll be setting out Bosch’s prospects in the future hydrogen economy in more detail. Growth encompasses more than just vehicles: seizing opportunities from heat pumps to factory automation There’s no doubt that the transformation of energy systems is one of Bosch’s biggest growth areas. And we can achieve it not just under the hood, but also in people’s homes. The electrification of heating systems, specifically with heat pumps, is allowing us to achieve the same kind of above-average growth we are seeing with electrical powertrains for cars. We are investing heavily in expanding our capacity in this business area. Since the start of this year, we have also been producing heat pumps at our plant in Eibelshausen, Germany, and we have just announced the construction of a new plant in Poland. To make the modernization of heating systems affordable for homeowners, one of the main things we focus on is hybrid solutions. This might mean combining an existing gas-fired boiler with a heat pump that nonetheless delivers the bulk of the required heat. In most cases, this eliminates the need for costly refurbishment, resulting in modernization costs that can be up to 30 percent lower than a solution solely based on a heat pump. All in all, we expect the European heat pump market to grow by 20 percent in 2023. Our sales are growing over twice as fast – and we will maintain this pace until the middle of this decade. In all our business sectors, ladies and gentlemen, Bosch is on course for growth. I’d like to offer three more striking examples: First, the need for energy and cost efficiency is also driving the technical modernization of commercial buildings, which is helping us expand our building technologies business on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S., we are enjoying great success with our subsidiary Climatec, which has doubled its sales and workforce since it was acquired by Bosch in 2015. Regional expansion has played a major role in Climatec’s success. Having branched out from its traditional stronghold in the American West, the company has long since made inroads on the Atlantic coast. These include its role in a flagship project to deliver high-tech building automation for “The Spiral,” a new skyscraper in New York City. Climatec has a good chance of achieving a further doubling of its sales over the next three years. Acquisitions have also given our building-systems business a boost in Europe. The sector is heavily segmented by region on this side of the Atlantic as well. Our acquisition of Protec Fire and Security Group has thus given us a foothold in the British market. In Europe as well, we have expanded our portfolio beyond traditional security technology by moving toward building automation. This is evidenced by two acquisitions: GFR and Hörburger. These have turned out to be a useful addition to our business. Over the past two years, our order intake for building automation in Europe has risen by 50 percent. Second, we have set ambitious growth targets for our consumer goods business. For example, we want to more than double our sales of power tools by 2030 to surpass the 10-billion-euro mark. To achieve this, we invested a good 300 million euros last year alone – for example, in efforts to expand our lucrative accessories business. This year, we plan to invest a further nine-figure sum in this area. Much of our focus here lies on North America – a region that accounts for over 40 percent of the global power tool market. BSH Hausgeräte is also further strengthening its international presence. From 2024 onward, for example, it will be manufacturing cooling appliances for the North American market in a new factory in Mexico. Third, we are also on course to grow our business in industrial technology. In this area, we want to grow our sales from their current level of 7 billion euros to 10 billion euros by 2028. This is important in order to be among the frontrunners in this industry. Acquisitions will always play an important strategic role in reaching this goal, as illustrated by the example of HydraForce in North America. This acquisition not only tripled our sales of compact hydraulics; HydraForce’s dealer network also gave us better access to the U.S. market. At the same time, acquisitions are helping us make headway in factory automation. This is a business area in which we aim to achieve double-digit growth every year. We have succeeded in setting an industry standard in the form of ctrlX Automation, an open control platform that already has 80 partner applications in its app store. Finally, we are entering a new field of business with the electrification of mobile machinery. To this end, it has now launched its comprehensive eLion range of products – and has also gained a large number of orders from manufacturers of off-highway vehicles. Emissions and noise regulations are becoming stricter in off-road applications, too – for example, in ports, mining, construction sites, and agriculture. The electrification of tractors, concrete mixers, and excavators has proved to be just what the industry has been waiting for. With Bosch Rexroth, we are the number one partner globally for mobile hydraulics – and we have the same goal when it comes to electrical powertrains for mobile machinery. Finally, we are entering a new field of business with the electrification of mobile machinery. To this end, it has now launched its comprehensive eLion range of products – and has also gained a large number of orders from manufacturers of off-highway vehicles. Emissions and noise regulations are becoming stricter in off-road applications, too – for example, in ports, mining, construction sites, and agriculture. The electrification of tractors, concrete mixers, and excavators has proved to be just what the industry has been waiting for. With Bosch Rexroth, we are the number one partner globally for mobile hydraulics – and we have the same goal when it comes to electrical powertrains for mobile machinery. Ladies and gentlemen, this example brings me to the end of my talk. Overall, it is clear that Bosch and its “Invented for life” ethos are currently situated at the center of several important trends. Stopping climate change requires electrification, which we currently offer in all our business sectors. Yet climate action also calls for the kinds of efficient solutions fostered by automation and digitalization. Understood correctly, climate action can trigger a wave of innovation in business and society. We can let the wave carry us, but we can also harness and strengthen it through our research and development activities. By the end of this year, to give another example, all our products will have been equipped, developed, or manufactured with artificial intelligence. We originally expected to achieve this target in 2025, but we are now on track to achieve it sooner. We still have plenty of innovative strength, and that enables us to do two things at the same time: first, to make our contribution to tackling the ecological challenges of our age and, second, to foster our own growth. The progress we’re achieving with our technology “Invented for life” is leading Bosch “onwards.”

Bosch Group

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Bosch Power Tools: With strong partners into a more sustainable future

22.03.2023

Presentations

Power Tools

Bosch Power Tools: With strong partners into a more sustainable future

Henk Becker, President of Bosch Power Tools at the press conference in Leinfelden on March 22, 2023 Check against delivery.Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the Bosch Power Tools Media Event for 2023! Thank you for joining us today! These are challenging times – for all of us. The war in Ukraine and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, especially in China, have triggered chain reactions that significantly affected our business as well in the past year. Prices of raw materials and energy continued to rise, exchange rates were highly volatile, and many countries saw the highest rates of inflation in decades. In light of rising costs and fears of recession, consumers’ purchasing behavior has changed. The DIY boom has come to an end, which has significantly reduced demand. Beyond that, the construction industry is also suffering as a result of rising costs for construction materials and transportation, higher interest rates, and lower willingness to invest. This economic environment has been, and remains, very challenging for us as well. What has helped us, and what we can continue building on in the future, is our very strong brand and the trust that users place in us. We have just seen that confirmed once again at the Best Brands Awards. What makes this award special is that it is decided not by a jury, but instead based on a representative consumer survey conducted by the market research firm GfK. Twelve thousand consumers participated. Over the past 20 years, we have placed in the top ten (or even the top three) an above-average number of times, which is a wonderful result! That has now earned us recognition in the “Best of the Best Brands” anniversary category, which highlights how well individual brands have performed over the past 20 years. There are two main operative factors here: “Share of Market,” which means a brand’s actual economic success, and “Share of Soul,” or the brand’s appeal as perceived by consumers. We are very proud that the success of the Bosch brand, its credibility and reliability, are shaped to a decisive degree by the solid market position of Bosch Power Tools. As you still may remember, we were already delighted to be named “Best Brand Overall” in 2021. Seventy-two percent of respondents indicated that they trust Bosch as a brand of power tools – the highest value across all brands. These awards motivate us to continue to focus on the needs of our users and to offer them added value. We make hard work easier for professionals and help our DIYers to realize their ambitions and sense of “Home made by you”. Beyond that, we are securing growth opportunities worldwide and strengthening our international presence in this persistently challenging environment by making strategic investments. Last year, we invested more than 300 million euros for future growth in our value chain and our product portfolio. This included, for example, the expansion of the strong accessories business, infrastructure projects to boost capacity, and the further extension of the company’s two multi-brand 18V battery systems: the Power for All Alliance for applications in and around the home, and the AmpShare Alliance for professionals in trade and industry. I will come back to both alliances in detail later on. Our investments were instrumental in helping us grow last year despite massive cost increases for materials and logistics, for example, and a very tense earnings situation. We even managed to surpass our sales figures for 2020 and 2021, both record years, by another 3 percent, bringing us up to 5.9 billion euros. In light of the special circumstances surrounding it, we can be satisfied with this performance. At the same time, we are looking ahead: We plan to more than double our sales at Bosch Power Tools by the end of this decade. For this year, we once again plan to invest a nine-figure sum. One of our focus areas is North America, which makes up more than 40 percent of the worldwide power tool market. By sharpening our product portfolio to best meet the needs of North American users and expanding our marketing activities and sales structures, we plan to boost our appeal amongst existing target audiences and to expand into new segments. As we look ahead, it is important not to lose sight of long-term trends, especially in light of the fast-paced changes taking place in the here and now. Demographic change, globalization, and climate change are all megatrends that will have a range of different economic, environmental, and social effects. With so many different factors in play, many companies have decided to focus on their core business. Overarching goals like climate action can fall by the wayside in those cases. Let me show you a video from the World Economic Forum to illustrate why we cannot let that happen. As we just saw, we are already in the middle of a massive climate and biodiversity crisis. There are many challenges we need to tackle. As part of the Bosch Group, our goal is to balance economic factors with environmental ones. Sustainability is a core part of our values, and it has been an integral element of our corporate culture for decades. In keeping with this commitment, we have already reached important milestones. In 2020, Bosch became the first global industrial company to achieve complete climate neutrality. In terms of Scope 1 and Scope 2, all 400 administrative, research, and production sites around the globe no longer have any footprint when it comes to CO 2 and equivalent greenhouse gases, known as CO 2 e for short. The same is true of the Bosch Power Tools locations, of course. We have defined four levers for making climate neutrality a success: improving energy efficiency, generating more energy from renewable sources, expanding the purchase of green electricity, and – as a last resort – offsetting unavoidable CO₂e emissions with carbon credits. Between now and 2030, we plan to continuously optimize the mix of these four levers. Beyond that, we will relentlessly pursue the reduction of upstream and downstream emissions (Scope 3) that lie outside our immediate sphere of influence. Our goal is to bring that figure down by at least 15 percent from the 2018 baseline by 2030. These Bosch climate targets have been scientifically derived, plus they have been validated and confirmed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). At Bosch Power Tools, we consider the entire value chain in relation to Scope 3. The main emphasis is on product design, the materials used, the packaging, and models of the circular economy. We believe that business and responsibility go hand in hand. That is why we are forging ahead with our commitment to sustainability and speeding up our transformation. I am especially pleased to be able to announce an important long-term partnership to you today: Bosch Power Tools and WWF Germany will be working together! World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) is one of the biggest, most experienced conservation organizations worldwide. For more than 60 years now, it has been working around the world to preserve biodiversity. It is a private and independent organization that operates in nearly 100 countries to protect the natural world. What unites us is the idea of shaping a better future. We firmly believe that WWF Germany is just the right partner to accompany Bosch Power Tools on our transformational journey to becoming an even more sustainable company. With that, let me give the floor briefly to Heike Vesper, who is a member of the executive management of WWF Germany and is responsible for the area of ‘transformation & policy’. As you just heard, we are teaming up with WWF Germany to advance our existing sustainability strategy and make an effective contribution to alleviating the climate and biodiversity crisis. Our partnership is intended as a long-term arrangement lasting at least five years. It will have several modules. First, we will be supporting four conservation projects of WWF Germany in Asia – the world’s workbench – to help make a direct contribution to combating the climate and biodiversity crisis. One area of focus there will be reducing and eliminating plastic waste, which is one of the world’s biggest issues. I will come back to that in detail in a moment. Second, we will be entering into critical, focused dialogue with the experts from WWF Germany in areas of our value creation that are relevant to sustainability. That includes, for example, the climate and packaging strategy, as well as issues relating to the circular orientation of our company. To get there, we will go through the ‘One Planet Rating’ process of WWF Germany in addition to the already done analysis of the current situation. The One Planet Rating looks at our sustainability performance across four key dimensions: climate, fresh water, biodiversity, and human rights. Based on the identified need for action, we will work together to come up with suitable objectives and effective measures so that we can set out on an appropriate path of transformation. Third, we will provide our associates with further sensitization and training about sustainability. This includes aspects such as learning modules of WWF Germany on climate change and its effects, along with individual measures relating to how each and every associate can think and act more sustainably in their daily lives in the areas of energy, mobility, and nutrition. As I mentioned before, one of the main focal points of our partnership will be eliminating plastic waste. Why is plastic such an important topic? It poses two key challenges worldwide. First, we need to dramatically reduce or even eliminate the CO 2 e emissions that are generated when plastics are produced, and which are a major driver of climate change. Second, the disposal of plastics is a huge challenge, as is properly bringing them back into the circular economy. In other words, plastic waste is an unsolved global problem. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), over 90 percent of plastic waste worldwide was not recycled in 2019. Most plastic is produced for single-use products and packaging. The OECD expects worldwide plastic consumption to rise from 460 million metric tons in 2019 to 1.2 billion metric tons in 2060 – if nothing changes. Given the hypothetical average use, and a population of 85 million in Germany, that would mean going from 5.5 kilograms per capita to more than 14! That is exactly where the Global Plastics Treaty, which is endorsed by WWF Germany and others, comes in. The UN members states unanimously resolved at the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022 that a globally binding agreement intended to put an end to plastic pollution should be drafted by 2024. The agreement is to set out standards and measures covering the entire plastic life cycle, from raw material to product design and recycling. The goal is to ensure that not as much plastic is produced in the first place going forward. Plastics are found in practically every area of our lives these days. They play an important role at Bosch Power Tools too. They are an integral element of almost every product, and they significantly increase our CO 2 e footprint. That’s something we want to change! We are aware of our responsibility and are constantly working to reduce our environmental footprint. Through various projects, we have now taken key steps along the way across all our product areas, such as cutting down on virgin plastic, increasing the proportion of recycled material used in our products, and eliminating unnecessary components like single-use polybags. In Home & Garden, we introduced cases made from recycled plastics back in 2019. Products made from recycled plastics consume less crude oil to make, so they are less of a CO₂e burden on the environment. This helps us conserve just over 1,000 metric tons of virgin plastic each year. In the Garden business, we started shifting from plastic blister packaging to cardboard packaging in 2020, which eliminates about 50 metric tons of plastic waste per year. Size optimization is another important factor. The goal is to conserve resources and material as a basic principle. This makes it possible to transport more tools per pallet, for example, which has a positive effect on transportation and thus on our overall CO 2 e footprint. As you can see, we always look at the entire value chain, as even the seemingly small changes add up to make a big impact! What started as a pilot project in Home & Garden is now reflected across all our business units – from measuring tools and our professional tools, to the Dremel brand and our accessories. It is important to understand that this is not a blueprint. Every project has its own parameters and challenges. Especially because there are so many different aspects to consider, we are very proud of what we have already achieved and are working on right now: In the space of four years, we have already eliminated 7,230 metric tons of virgin plastic – about the same weight as the steel structure used to build the Eiffel Tower! Starting this year, we will be eliminating up to 4,050 metric tons of virgin plastic every year. That works out to the tare weight of a little over 1,000 40-foot shipping containers. We have also been using fewer polybags in our packaging since 2020. If we were to lay all the bags we previously used to pack items such as batteries on top of each other, the stack would reach more than twice as high as the Eiffel Tower. In addition, we are also reducing the materials used as fillers in transportation, which alone will cut our plastic use by 110 metric tons this year. Our pioneering product here, and a milestone in sustainable product development, is the Quigo Green cross-line laser. It was our first measuring tool with a housing and accessories made from 90 percent recycled plastic. A major area of focus as far back as during product development was reducing the CO 2 e footprint for the entire product, including accessories and packaging. To get there, the first step was to identify the biggest CO₂e hotspots in the existing tool by analyzing the product life cycle. Using these analyses, we assess the environmental impact of our products across the entire value chain, from production of the necessary raw materials to manufacturing and actual use, and beyond to the recycling of the product. How exactly do we do that? We break down our power tools into their individual components and take a closer look at them with an eye to their CO 2 e footprint. That lets us know where we need to dial in to make a product more sustainable and improve future generations of products. Our Quigo Green went through this process too. We learned an incredible amount from the Quigo project, and it was the first time we managed to put all the measures I introduced earlier into action at once: We use recycled material, which cuts our use of virgin plastic for the housing and accessories by 90 percent. We use size-optimized packaging that is also optimized for transportation and is made from 70 percent recycled paper. We use no plastic films at all in the packaging. Beyond that, we have also optimized the electronics in the Quigo Green so that it needs 50 percent less energy than its predecessor. Now we are going one step farther and translating this sustainable product concept to our entire measuring tools portfolio for DIYers! Our product range in this segment will encompass 23 tools and eight accessories in all at that point – all of them as simple and easy to use as before, but more sustainable than ever! But don’t just take my word for it. See for yourself in the video! Key insights on sustainability that we gleaned during the Quigo Green project are now going into the entire product range: We are using as much recycled material as possible for all product housings, both for the rigid plastic parts and the metal ones. Whenever possible, the soft grip is also made from recycled plastic. All our packaging is made from at least 70 percent recycled materials. Our goal is a figure of at least 90 percent. The paper and cardboard for user instructions and brochures is already made from 100 percent recycled material, as is the PET used in our protective bags. It accounts for about 70 percent of the total materials. We’ve completely eliminated polybags from all our user-facing packaging. We’ve also optimized all our packaging for transportation so that it takes up as little space as possible, which makes optimum use of available pallet space. That helps us save on warehousing and transportation costs, which in turn lowers our CO 2 e emissions. In addition, we have also enhanced and refined our products with an eye to their functions and ease of use. Let me assure you of one thing: We are working relentlessly to make our entire product portfolio more sustainable. The insights we have gained so far, for example regarding the opportunities and limitations of recycled materials, continue to flow into our processes and production. Our goal is to be a role model for the industry and to motivate everyone to do their part for a better living environment. You might recall what I said at the beginning: What we build on is strong partners who contribute their expertise on a long-range basis to develop and establish solid concepts and solutions. That’s especially true of the multi-brand use of batteries in tools from different manufacturers, which conserves resources. This is a topic we have been dedicating ourselves to for years now, with tremendous passion and conviction. Together with our partners, we offer users two different battery systems in the 18V segment, which is the one used the most. First, there is the Power for All Alliance, for applications in and around the home. And second, there is the AmpShare Alliance, which covers tools for professionals in in trade and industry. Because the same battery can be used across different brands, both target groups save money, space, and time with each of these systems, the one for the do-it-yourself segment and the one for the professional segment. That also lets them contribute to greater sustainability since they ultimately need fewer batteries and chargers. Let’s take a look at the DIY segment first. Users who choose the Power for All Alliance can use the very same 18V battery to operate power tools, garden tools, and home appliances from Bosch, as well as products from the Gardena, Gloria, Wagner, Rapid, Steinel, Flymo, Kübler Workwear, and PerfectPro brands. Last year, we also managed to bring Husqvarna in as another strong brand for our Power for All Alliance. We already offer more than 100 tools as part of our alliance. Our shared goal is to offer users the biggest cross-brand battery system, and thus the widest range of applications for their homes: DIY tools, garden and cleaning tools, home appliances, products for coating surfaces, for leisure time and camping – and much more. The number of tools in the system and the number of partners is growing steadily. I can tell you now that we are already in talks with other well-known potential partners. You may be surprised. We’ll let you know more soon. We have also decided to further strengthen this close cross-brand cooperation by making an investment. Just a few weeks ago, Bosch announced that it had signed an agreement for a stake of about 12 percent in Husqvarna AB. The long-established Swedish company markets not only the Husqvarna brand, but also other successful brands such as Gardena (a founding member of the Power for All Alliance) and Flymo. This will give us additional impetus in the area of battery collaboration. Together, we plan to write the next chapter in our success story, strengthen the Power for All Alliance, and continue to grow! For the professional segment, we and our partners in the AmpShare Alliance already offer more than 200 professional tools. More than 25 brands are part of the alliance today. All of them, like our founding members Fein and Rothenberger, are experts in their field. Take Fischer, for example, the world technology leader in key fields of fixing technology, and Klauke, which specializes in tools for crimping, cutting, and punching. We have ambitious goals ahead for ourselves in this regard too. By the end of this year, we plan to offer more than 300 compatible tools for trade and industry in the AmpShare Alliance. This will involve as broad and complete a product range as possible, across all operating units and trades. We are paying special attention to developments in structural engineering, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, as well as in electrical installation, metalworking, interior work, roofing, and wood-framed construction. The goal is to make our users’ hard work as easy as possible so that they can optimally meet and fulfill the increasingly stringent requirements of the construction industry. Amid climate change, which we discussed at the start, there is a special focus here on sustainable building and renovation. To this end, we are steadily expanding our product range. That’s why I’m especially pleased to be able to introduce three additional brands today that have joined the AmpShare Alliance: Aircraft, Cleancraft, and Steinel will be adding to the portfolio and contributing expertise in compressed air and cleaning technology, as well as thermo tools. The Stürmer Maschinen GmbH product range includes products such as piston and screw compressors under the Aircraft brand, along with vacuum cleaners for a variety of demands, floor cleaning machines, high-pressure washers, water pumps and more under the Cleancraft brand. As part of the AmpShare Alliance, our partner will be forging ahead with cordless power tools. Steinel is also betting on battery technology, and specifically the 18V segment. They specialize in applications such as hot air tools and hot glue applicators and will be presenting their first tools within the AmpShare Alliance soon. With each new manufacturer and each new brand, we are making it easier for users to fill their toolboxes with exactly the tools they need. Each partner brings their own expertise and special knowledge to this alliance, thereby enriching the whole portfolio. We already have just under 30 brands in the AmpShare Alliance. Additional manufacturers will follow later this year. We’ll keep you posted, of course! Together with our partners, we are creating a battery system professional users can build on. Many brands. Many tools. One battery system. That is our way of making hard work easier! What’s more, we are also constantly expanding our own range of cordless products. You’ll get the chance to try out some key new 18V innovations from us for yourselves shortly. In the DIY segment, for example, we are unveiling new saws and the first volume pump in our product range. We have new product categories in store in the professional segment as well. Get ready for a real treat! You can also take a closer look at our new sustainable measuring tool range as well, of course. As always, this selection of innovations represents just a small portion of our vast product range. We launch more than 100 new products every year in our four business fields of power tools, garden tools, accessories, and measuring tools. As I wrap up for today, let me briefly recap my key points: We firmly believe entrepreneurship and protecting our planet should go hand in hand, and we are leading by example. We are working consistently and systematically to reduce our environmental footprint and always consider the entire value chain as we do so. Right now, we are in a process of transformation. We’ve already accomplished some of what we set out to do, and many more goals still lie ahead. It’s a truly exciting journey with the goal of balancing economic, environmental, and social challenges as effectively as possible. Sustainability is a game changer for us. That is why we are taking this matter to the next level now through our long-term partnership with the WWF Germany and the expertise we have brought in from outside. Together with strong partners, we are identifying innovative and effective responses to complex questions – for today, and for a more sustainable future. Thank you.

Power Tools

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Power up your senses #LikeABosch – innovative sensing solutions at the heart of ...

04.01.2023

Presentations

Bosch Group

Power up your senses #LikeABosch – innovative sensing solutions at the heart of ...

Dr. Tanja Rückert, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America, at CES®, on January 4, 2023 Check against delivery.Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Bosch press conference! After two years of virtual participation due to the pandemic, I’m so glad we can stage a live event again – and that I finally have the chance to be here in person, representing Bosch at the beating heart of the tech universe! Of course the pandemic isn’t over yet by any means – in fact our global challenges just seem to keep growing. Each year has brought a new set of challenges that add to the existing ones: war in Europe, rising inflation, energy shortages, devastating floods and fires... That’s why we’re particularly pleased that the CTA chose the theme of “Human security for all” for this year’s CES. It recognizes the key role technology has to play in safeguarding and enhancing our safety, security, and well-being, as well as the health of our planet. Today we’d like to talk to you about a piece of technology that plays an especially big role in all of this. It’s everywhere yet nearly invisible, despite the fact that it underpins a huge proportion of the solutions we rely on in our daily lives. Since it doesn’t occupy the limelight very often, we decided to make it the star of our latest “like a Bosch” campaign. As you probably guessed from the video you just saw, I’m talking about – sensors. It would be hard to overstate the beneficial impact sensors have on our lives. They make our vehicles safer, they help us to improve our health, and they allow us to keep an eye on things that are otherwise hard to see – everything from temperature and pressure to the presence of harmful substances in our food and water. They save people’s lives every day – for example by automatically identifying things like collisions and falls, and then triggering airbag deployment or a call for help. And by making sure that help arrives quickly: did you know that pressure sensors in smartphones can pinpoint someone’s altitude to within a few centimeters? This can help first responders quickly locate someone inside a multi-story building; according to the FCC this could save more than 10,000 lives each year in the U.S. alone. Thanks to sensors, our lives are safer, we use fewer resources – we even breathe cleaner air. Sensors also form the backbone of our connected world – without smart sensor nodes, the internet of things wouldn’t even be conceivable. And as their capabilities increase, so too does their importance. Between 2019 and 2030, the global sensor market is projected to more than double in size to over 400 billion dollars. At Bosch, we had a pioneering role in developing one of today’s most important and widely-used types of sensors: the tiny yet powerful micro-electro-mechanical systems sensors, also known as MEMS. We’re the leading global manufacturer of this technology – since we started in 1995, we’ve produced more than 18 billion MEMS sensors. And our business is still growing rapidly: over the last five years we’ve produced as many as in all the years before. Today there are an average of 22 Bosch MEMS in every car. You very likely have one in your pocket too: half the smartphones on the planet contain at least one of these Bosch sensors, and if you use a fitness tracker or smart headphones as well, you likely have quite a collection of them. Over the years we’ve continued to refine MEMS by equipping them with increasingly sophisticated capabilities. But we’ve only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to edge computing, sensors are becoming ever smarter, now not only able to detect and relay information, but process and analyze it as well. Increasingly, sensors can even learn from the data they collect, as we’re now able to equip them directly with AI algorithms. An especially promising new frontier is quantum sensing. Although still in its infancy, quantum sensing could soon allow measurements one thousand times more precise than today’s MEMS. This will enable faster and more accurate diagnosis of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s, for example, and could revolutionize the use of prosthetic limbs. Last year Bosch established a startup to drive forward commercialization of quantum sensors and tap into a market which is forecast to reach up to 7 billion dollars in the coming years. Our work on this cutting-edge technology underlines our company’s strategy as a high-tech innovator and fits in well with our digitalization efforts. Over the next three years, we will be investing another 10 billion dollars in digitally transforming our business and expanding our workforce of 40,000 software engineers. In driving forward digitalization at our company, our ultimate aim is to find ever new ways of delivering on our “Invented for life” promise. To us, this means offering products and solutions that improve quality of life and offer real benefit for people. It also means keeping sustainability in the front and center of our development efforts, both by continuously improving the footprint of our products and by identifying sustainability-enhancing applications for them. But we’ll talk more about the intersection of technology and sustainability in a minute. And, we’ll look at findings from our second Bosch Tech Compass survey that give us some insight into consumer perspectives on this topic. First, we’d like to tell you about some of the ways we’re putting our sensor expertise to use in beneficial solutions. In fact, this is what sets us apart from most other sensor suppliers; we don’t simply produce this crucial building block, we use it as the basis of a wide variety of hardware, software, and services that are transforming the way we move and live. The first domain in which our sensors found widespread use was in automotive applications, and Bosch remains one of the leading manufacturers for the automotive industry. Among other things, Bosch sensors help with vehicle navigation, control airbags and ESP systems, and enable numerous assistance functions that enhance driving safety, comfort, and efficiency. Sensors are particularly indispensable for automated driving. As one of the trailblazers of this technology, we’re putting our sensor expertise to good use in solutions that are taking us ever closer to the driverless vehicles of tomorrow, while already enabling cutting-edge driver-assistance systems. We produce a wide range of sensors that help cars independently monitor their surroundings, including radar, video, and ultrasonic. We’re also working on an automotive-grade long-range lidar sensor. A great example of what sensors are enabling us to achieve in this domain is the automated valet parking function we developed with Mercedes-Benz. In fact, we just passed a major milestone with this technology: in November, Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority approved this highly-automated parking system for use in the parking garage at Stuttgart Airport. This makes it the world’s first SAE Level 4 parking function to be officially approved for commercial use. Imagine a world where you won’t need to waste your time looking for a parking space! It’s almost here. But increased convenience is not the only way we’re improving life behind the wheel. Here at CES, we’re presenting a new sensor-based innovation designed to enhance safety for drivers as well as passengers in ridesharing contexts. Our new RideCare companion is a full-service hardware and software solution. Consisting of a connected camera, wireless SOS button, and cloud-based data services, it goes beyond just recording footage: in case of need, remote operators can view inside the vehicle and provide active help. At the moment, we’re envisioning it as a valuable safety net for gig drivers. Looking further ahead to the automated, shared mobility of the future, we see this solution as an essential tool for ensuring the safety of all vehicle occupants. The CTA thought so too and gave it a Best of Innovation Award! Of course, sensors have applications beyond traditional motorized vehicles – at our booth, we’re showcasing our latest e-bike innovations under the tagline “Safety via sensor tech.” I’m especially excited about our new eBike ABS , which will have its U.S. launch later this year. Just like with cars, ABS for bicycles works with wheel speed sensors, and prevents the front wheel from locking up during hard braking by regulating braking pressure. There are so many situations on a bike when fast, stable braking is critical: when you’re hurtling downhill and a car door opens in front of you, or you have to come to a sudden stop on a wet surface while transporting kids in your cargo bike. In scary moments like these, eBike ABS not only helps maintain both stability and steerability, it also reduces the probability of rear-wheel lift. This is life-saving technology: our research shows that equipping all e-bikes with this system could reduce accidents involving them by nearly a third. On the subject of accidents, of course we can’t prevent them all. But when they do happen, we try to mitigate the effects. This is the intention of our new solution called Off-Zone Crash Detection . It’s designed to help protect vehicle occupants during so-called “off-zone” collisions: these are side impacts to the front or rear of the car which happen most often during lane changes and merging, and which traditional safety systems can fail to detect. The idea actually came from one of our U.S. engineers who had this kind of accident and discovered that it didn’t trigger his occupant protection systems. He came up with a clever solution that repurposes airbag sensors in conjunction with a new software algorithm to reliably detect these types of impacts. It’s a great example of how we’re using software to get more value out of existing hardware and provide beneficial new features to drivers on the road – and it was also named a CTA Innovation Award Honoree! Beyond the mobility domain, MEMS sensors enable or enhance many of the high-tech devices we use in our daily lives. A lot of you are certainly familiar with virtual reality technology, which also relies on sensors to create a dynamic, interactive image. But are you aware of the numerous applications for it beyond entertainment and gaming? The field of VR-based therapy holds particular promise. We currently have a project running in Copenhagen, Denmark, involving a new Bosch solution called VR Bus Ride . It’s being used to help young adults with learning disabilities to become more independent: they gain confidence dealing with the challenge of riding a bus by experiencing it in a VR context before attempting it in real life. The results have been extremely empowering for the young people involved, and we’re currently exploring a number of other therapy-based applications for this technology. Last year we told you about a new piece of sensor technology we’re particularly proud of: our new AI gas sensor at the heart of Dryad Silvanet , a wildfire early-detection system that has the potential to be a true game-changer. This past summer, in fact, a Dryad unit detected its first wildfire in the field in Germany, allowing a swift and effective response from local fire fighters. After running numerous proof-of-concept trials worldwide last year, the Dryad system will be going into mass production this year. If helping improve quality of life and bringing people real benefit is one of the cornerstones of our development work, our commitment to achieving greater sustainability is the other – and this is as true for sensor technology as it is for all our areas of business. It’s also driving technological advancement, both in how we build our products and in what they’re capable of. Staying with sensors, you may think there’s not much sustainability potential to be leveraged in the making of a product so small. Well, you’d be wrong. When Bosch began producing MEMS sensors in 1995, the edge length of an acceleration sensor was still over 13 centimeters. Today, the most compact MEMS sensor we make is smaller than a pinhead with an edge length of just 1.28 millimeters. That’s a reduction in size by a factor of 97, while at the same time we’ve slashed MEMS power consumption by a factor of 100, all while continuously improving functionality. And we’re still achieving gains: for instance, we’re showcasing a range of new MEMS sensors here at CES which in addition to featuring industry-leading robustness and accuracy, are setting new standards in terms of size and efficiency. These include our programmable inertial measurement unit with integrated AI , which is the world’s first self-learning fitness sensor and is now both 50 percent smaller and draws 50 percent less current than the previous model. We also have an exceptionally rugged barometric pressure sensor which offers best-in-class accuracy while consuming 85 percent less power than before. And we have a high-performance magnetometer which features our unique field shock recovery feature, meaning it’s extremely resistant to external magnetic fields, and it requires 20 times less power than the previous generation. Across all our product classes, we’re developing solutions and services aimed at tackling our most pressing environmental challenges. In the mobility domain, we continue to drive forward innovation in the twin areas of electrification and hydrogen fuel-cells. Where electrification is concerned, here at CES we’re demonstrating our new eAxle city . It’s an especially light and compact all-in-one electric drive solution for use as the main drive in smaller vehicle classes or as a secondary drive for an extra boost. It features power modules based on highly-efficient silicon carbide semiconductor technology for longer ranges and faster recharging times. From light duty to heavy duty vehicles, we’re continuing to pursue development of mobile hydrogen fuel cells . Our commitment in both of these areas is also reflected here in the U.S. In the latter part of 2022 we announced two major developments in South Carolina: we started manufacturing electric motors in Charleston and plan to start producing fuel cell stacks in Anderson. It’s not all about physical products, though – we’re leveraging our digitalization and software expertise to achieve sustainability gains too. For example, we recently launched a new solution called Autotrace , an end-to-end digital solution that uses blockchain technology to help enable a circular economy for the manufacturing and automotive sectors. By tracking and monitoring critical aspects of the supply chain – including parts provenance, carbon emissions, and materials of high concern – Autotrace can help streamline inventory management and enable responsible disposal and reuse. The idea is to provide incentives for manufacturers to adopt circular economy practices and drive circular behaviors across the entire supply chain. Another great example of our digital activities is the partnership we recently announced with IBM in the field of quantum computing. Together, we’re going to be harnessing the ultra-powerful computers of tomorrow to look for alternatives to the precious metals and rare earths currently used in carbon-neutral powertrains. For Bosch, such alliances are an important building block for expanding our technology leadership. They’re also essential from a sustainability standpoint, since we’re convinced that working together is the key to finding solutions to our biggest challenges. As an international enterprise, it’s not lost on us that we carry a particular burden of responsibility when it comes to the carbon footprint of our operations and the impact of our solutions on people and the planet. Above all, we want to demonstrate how if the right path is taken, the twin aims of profitability and sustainability can go hand in hand. We have long known that our commitment to sustainability is important to our customers. And now we have hard evidence showing just how important it is to everyone. A year ago at CES, we introduced the first Bosch Tech Compass , a survey we conducted on global attitudes to technology. As a follow-up, we took an even deeper dive with a new set of questions and a wider set of respondents representing seven countries in total. The results of the second survey were an even clearer affirmation of consumer support for sustainable business practices. For example, an incredible 85 percent of survey respondents said they think the use of sustainable technologies should be an essential part of every company. At the same time, nearly as many – 82 percent – believe that the more a company focuses on sustainable technologies, the more successful it will be in the future. This is great news for Bosch – and for the planet. You see, if we can assume that these strong feelings translate into purchasing behavior, then more than four out of five people worldwide are choosing to support companies that develop or use sustainable technologies. This momentum could accelerate the development of even more sustainability-enhancing innovation. It could be considered a positive feedback loop, and it’s a win-win for everyone. A win-win – we definitely need more of those! In times of such uncertainty, it’s encouraging to know there is one thing we can be optimistic about. Whether in the form of indoor location tracking, e-bike accident prevention, or quantum algorithms to accelerate the journey to carbon-neutral mobility, technology is making our lives ever safer, easier, and more sustainable. And as a company on the leading edge of technological innovation, we know for a fact that there is untold potential still waiting to be tapped. One of the ways we’re doing this is with those miniature marvels we call sensors. As the unseen backbone of our modern world, they’re responsible for many of the beneficial applications we rely on in our daily lives. And despite their super small size, they will continue to play a very large role in enhancing quality of life and reducing our impact on the planet. How can we be sure? Because we’re already working on it. Ultimately, that’s what it’s all about for us: in everything we do, we strive to bring about a better tomorrow with our innovations. For Bosch, this is “Invented for life.”

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Bosch ensures sustainable movement in freight transport with software, a logisti ...

19.09.2022

Presentations

Bosch Group

Bosch ensures sustainable movement in freight transport with software, a logisti ...

Dr. Markus Heyn, chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector of Robert Bosch GmbH, at the IAA Transportation press conference on September 19, 2022 in Hannover Check against delivery. Ladies and gentlemen, Never has the future of commercial-vehicle development been so wide open as it is now. In this exciting time for our customers and engineers, I welcome you to Bosch at IAA Transportation. While electromobility is emerging as essentially the sole option for the future of the passenger car, we see several alternative powertrain systems for the trucks of tomorrow. In the name of climate action, freight transport is moving in different and, above all, more diverse directions. It’s true that diesel still has a longer life ahead of it in trucks than in passenger cars, especially outside Europe. But it is now being joined by three climate-neutral powertrain options: the battery, the fuel cell, and last but not least, the hydrogen engine. Bosch, like no other company, is developing all the powertrains for the trucks of tomorrow. Our goal is to have trucks no longer be a burden on the climate. This is an ambitious goal, as global freight transport is expected to increase 40 percent by 2030, and even triple by 2050. It spurs economic growth, and that growth, in turn, moves it forward. So it is also the truck powertrain that will decide whether growth and climate action can be reconciled. This is not the only issue currently affecting the logistics industry. There are four more challenges we are helping to solve: First, the driver shortage. Europe needs 400,000 truck drivers, so we’re teaching trucks to drive themselves. An automated truck will not only avoid accidents due to human error, but it will also pay for itself. Second, supply-chain difficulties around the world. Where are the goods, what is their condition? Our track-and-trace solution provides answers in real time with the help of sensors on the transport containers. Third, the lack of efficiency and security in goods transportation. More than one in three truck journeys is an empty run, and stolen freight causes more than eight billion euros in damage across Europe every year. One way to combat this is with logistics services based on connectivity in truck fleets. Fourth, the almost overwhelming variety of IT solutions for managing truck fleets. This makes it all the more important to bundle them on one platform. Bosch is introducing just such a platform with Amazon Web Services over the next few months. More than ever, challenges like these call for expertise in software and the internet of things. That’s why we are looking beyond the hood in our work on the future of freight transport. In all this, the economic environment remains difficult – the war in Ukraine, supply bottlenecks, and inflation, to name just a few issues. The energy crisis has recently worsened on the heels of considerable increases in the price of raw materials and semiconductors, and the entire industry is suffering as a result. That is why Bosch, too, must remain in dialogue with its automotive customers about fair compensation. So far this year, the sales revenue of our Mobility Solutions business sector grew by a good six percent after adjusting for exchange-rate effects. We generate one-fourth of our sales revenue from our commercial-vehicle technology business, ranging from vans to 40-ton trucks. This business in particular will experience a surge in growth over the course of the decade, primarily due to alternative powertrains such as fuel-cell technology. Many paths lead to a climate-neutral powertrain – Bosch is pursuing all of them But how is the market for these powertrains developing? Here we would do well to think in scenarios. It is, however, expected that by 2035, the share of commercial vehicles weighing six metric tons or more that run on diesel – a share that has dominated the market up to now – will fall to less than half. That’s still enough to keep pressing ahead with diesel development. And with synthetic fuels, diesel vehicles will also be carbon neutral to operate, meaning the existing fleet can play a part in climate action. Nevertheless, by the middle of the next decade, more than half of all new commercial vehicles will be electric, powered either by a battery or by hydrogen. A technology-neutral approach is particularly useful in commercial vehicles – depending on the application, route length, and vehicle weight, there will be more than one climate-neutral option for the truck powertrain. With 3,400 engineers, Bosch is pursuing four development paths toward moving the commercial vehicle of tomorrow: First, there’s diesel, which is becoming even more efficient with the new exhaust and CO₂ limits. Standards are rising in both China and the U.S. and Euro VII is coming to Europe, so this can once again become a driver of innovation. This makes it all the more important that emission specifications strive to reflect driving conditions that are as realistic as possible. We are forecasting strong demand growth for exhaust gas aftertreatment – sales of our Denoxtronic system are set to increase by ten percent as early as next year. CO₂ legislation will deliver certain economic advantages as well, and these will benefit freight forwarders directly, as less carbon dioxide requires greater efficiency in diesel. Our second development path is the battery-electric powertrain, which is taking up a growing slice of our order books. For example, we already have 30 major orders from commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world’s three key economic regions. Our strengths here include not only our components but our integrated solutions as well. Our advanced driving module is suitable for vans and combines e-axle, brakes, and steering. For trucks, we offer scalable electric motors adapted for use in conjunction with silicon carbide inverters. This combination yields an efficiency of up to 97 percent – an outstanding rate among electric powertrains for commercial vehicles. On the third development path, we are making great strides toward getting the fuel-cell electric powertrain ready for large-scale production. It can be seen at this IAA in a Nikola truck, for example, with Bosch on board. By the end of the year, 500 trucks equipped with our fuel-cell technology will be on the road; by 2025, the figure is expected to exceed 40,000. Our plan is to produce these systems worldwide close to where our customers are: for example, we will also manufacture fuel-cell stacks in Wuxi, China, and are investing 200 million euros for this purpose in Anderson, USA. The Bamberg plant in Germany should receive the green light for stack production sometime in the next few weeks. By the end of the decade, it should cost no more to operate a fuel-cell truck than a diesel. What is ecologically correct must not be economically incorrect – that’s how to do climate action right. And finally, we are working on a hydrogen engine. This engine can do everything a diesel engine can, but is virtually climate neutral. Taking a closer look, it fills a gap among CO₂-neutral powertrains. Although its efficiency is below that of the fuel cell at low and medium loads, it is above that level at full load. Its field of application will thus be heavy long-distance transport and especially agricultural and construction machinery. Our components feature in more than 100 technical trials in the three major economic regions. In India, we have already won our first major project. Here, too, we are making serious progress. No way forward without infrastructure – two Bosch solutions Yet there is one thing we must bear in mind, ladies and gentlemen: whatever climate-neutral powertrain technology we develop, it will catch on only if the appropriate infrastructure is in place. Without a comprehensive network of charge spots and hydrogen filling stations, only a small number of vehicles with alternative powertrains will be on our roads over the long term – and vice versa. A chicken-and-egg problem, if you will. Politics has a role to play here, but Bosch, too, is addressing both sides of the issue. We develop solutions not only for the vehicle but also for the infrastructure: For example, we are offering filling station operators a way to make a cost-effective entry into hydrogen technology. To this end, our subsidiary Bosch Rexroth has partnered with Maximator Hydrogen to develop a solution for compressing hydrogen for filling stations, storage tanks, and pipelines. This technology is expected to be on the market as early as next year, and eventually rolled out to 4,000 hydrogen filling stations by 2030. At the same time, we are developing a digital recharging and operating service for electrified commercial vehicle fleets. This service will launch next year also. We assume that commercial vehicles will be recharged mainly at privately owned spots, such as the depots of large fleets. The new Bosch service offers several features for this, including an energy management system that absorbs expensive load peaks when recharging a large number of vehicles. This solution is tailored especially to electromobility in logistics. Overall, the market for recharging commercial vehicles will grow 50 percent annually over the course of this decade. Countering the driver shortage – trucks that drive themselves We need to rethink freight transport in every respect – not only what moves it, but also how it moves. Automated driving is coming, due in part to the acute driver shortage, and nowhere does automated driving make more economic sense than in commercial vehicles. Bosch is working apace to teach trucks to drive with European technology on European roads. We have just acquired the British startup Five, a company that will further accelerate our software development with its cloud-based testing platform. In any case, it is the software that will essentially determine the automated driving characteristics in commercial vehicles. To put it another way, the “software-defined truck” is coming. This is an area where Bosch can play to its strengths: half the R&D associates in our Mobility Solutions business sector are software engineers. Before this decade is out, our technology will allow highly automated trucks to drive on freeways. Our first step will be to implement driverless operation between two motorway service areas, followed by automated shuttle service between two logistics depots. We are working on the necessary solutions with more than 1,100 engineers, and have already put three key conditions in place: First, we have an ECU for automated driving – with a good 100 times the computing power of one for driver assistance. We have developed a prototype that will serve as the basis for our driving-strategy software and for the evaluation of sensor data using artificial intelligence. Second, we are making the electronics architecture in future trucks significantly more powerful. Bosch will be putting an appropriate vehicle computer into large-scale production at a European truck manufacturer by the middle of the decade. Third, at this IAA we are presenting two new steering systems that enable highly automated driving. One is purely electric, the other electrohydraulic. We have customers for them not just in Europe but also in China and the U.S. In addition, we already have an electrohydraulic steering system on the market that enables commercial vehicles to stay in their lane automatically. We are seeing growth of some 40 percent annually with this alone. Finally, Bosch is very much on track in driver assistance. Propelling our efforts here are the legal requirements for preventing road accidents with commercial vehicles. In Europe, for example, turn assist systems will become mandatory in new trucks from 2024 onward. This will provide a boost for the corner radar sensor business in trucks. In the process, the market will grow by 40 percent over the next few years, Bosch by almost 60 percent. Overview of multiple services – the launch of the logistics platform More security, more efficiency – both are ultimately driven by the connectivity of freight transport. With the connectivity control unit, or CCU for short, we are laying the essential technical groundwork for trucks to become part of the internet. The CCU has long been more than just a toll device; it enables software updates, predictive diagnostics, and last but not least, logistics services. Our business with CCUs is growing by 25 percent, the market by ten percent. Here, too, we are achieving above-average growth. When it comes to connectivity, Bosch can leverage twice the expertise: in the truck itself, but also in the internet of things. In this area, we are more than a hardware supplier; we are also directly pushing ahead with the logistics services business. To give you two examples: First, logistics monitoring: Bosch service centers monitor the condition of critical or even medically vital goods around the clock – between 30,000 and 40,000 high-value truckloads annually. During the coronavirus pandemic, we also took on the monitoring of vaccine shipments. Second, secure truck parking: Europe is lacking 400,000 secure truck parking spaces. Bosch offers 100 suitable areas along the highways in eleven countries. This means that secure parking spaces can be conveniently booked on our platform; truck drivers don’t have to frantically search for them every evening. Demand is on the rise, with bookings tripling in 2021 alone. In the future, our secure parking spaces will include overnight charging, too – solving two problems of freight traffic at once. Given everything we do as a provider of logistics services, we also offer a platform that bundles such services. From our point of view, this is crucial for realizing the practical benefit of digital services under time and cost pressure. Until now, fleet operators have had to deal with a large number of solutions that exist independently of one another, i.e. they have no common pool of data. Integrating these solutions delivers a boost in efficiency. This is exactly what the new platform from Bosch and Amazon Web Services offers: the Logistics Operating System, or L.OS for short. We will be launching it in India within the next few weeks and then in Europe and the U.S. at the beginning of next year. Bosch supplies more than climate-neutral powertrains; with our software solutions, we are also creating new movement in freight transport. All this can be seen here at our booth. I look forward to welcoming you there!

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New energy for sustainability with technology from Bosch

04.05.2022

Presentations

Bosch Group

New energy for sustainability with technology from Bosch

Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management, Robert Bosch GmbH, together with Filiz Albrecht, Dr. Christian Fischer, Dr. Markus Forschner, Dr. Markus Heyn, and Rolf Najork, members of the Bosch board of management, at the annual press conference on May 4, 2022 Check against delivery.Ladies and gentlemen … … "Decoding tomorrow," the theme of this year's annual report, may sound slightly technical, yet it is also very optimistic. We stand by that. It refers to Bosch's core message of making the world a better place with technology that is "Invented for life." We may manufacture all manner of drive systems, but this is what drives us. Currently, however, matters of war and peace are overshadowing our day-to-day lives in a way we had, for decades, not thought possible. Where people are fighting to survive, our thoughts go out to them and we share their fears. Yet still we must not give up hope. But what does the conflict in eastern Europe have to do with the threat of climate change? There is, in fact, a connection: we have to put our energy use on a broader footing. We need security of supply, and at the same time we have to open up new sources of energy. How is Bosch decoding this future task? We want to delve into this question in our annual press conference, to which I warmly welcome you in these somber times. Dr. Stefan Hartung: Electrification and green hydrogen – Bosch is opting for both First, it’s worth taking a closer look at how the war affects climate action. My assessment is nuanced: in the short term, the acute conflict will slow progress in reducing carbon emissions, but in the long term, it will accelerate the technological transformation in Europe. One consideration relates to the impact on the oil and gas market, where the shock of the war in eastern Europe collided with an already difficult situation – difficult also in the wake of the recovery from the coronavirus crisis. Growing demand on the one hand, short supply and low capacity reserves on the other – that was the state of the oil and gas market even at the start of 2022. It is precisely this situation that has further intensified in step with the consequences of the war. Our concern right now is the security of energy supplies, and in many countries this is leading, at least temporarily, to a new “energy pragmatism.” In the longer term, however, oil and gas prices will certainly remain on a level that is high, if not very high. The other consideration relates to high fuel prices, which will make electrification more attractive, both for driving and for heating. This development will gain additional momentum as a result of consumers’ growing interest in alternative mobility solutions and energy sources. Policymakers could take this as their cue to act with a great deal more determination – whether in providing incentives to make existing buildings more energy efficient, or in massively expanding renewable power generation. The current crisis is rife with pitfalls – we don’t wish to downplay this fact. But in the long term, we are absolutely certain it will be a catalyst for decarbonization, both in our homes and on our roads. Even this rough sketch of energy policy shows that, while it may be tempting to shift the focus away from climate action in times of international conflicts, there are good reasons to do just the opposite and to work on the technological conditions for mitigating global warming. We firmly believe that this is precisely what Bosch is capable of. The way we see it, we deliver technological solutions to this ecological problem. In this sense, technology that is “Invented for life” is technology for more sustainability on the road, in buildings, and in factories. The presentations that follow will show how we are on the leading edge of this development. But before we get to them, I want to outline our strategy. For me, it is perfectly clear that if we really want to mitigate global warming, we have to be prepared to accept carbon-neutral technologies in every part of the economy. We still have to make some of these technologies available on competitive terms, and some will have to be developed completely from scratch. To achieve this, we are taking a two-pronged approach. First, we are opting for electrification. Assuming it uses green electricity, this is the fastest route to climate neutrality. Bosch has solutions for this – both heat pumps for buildings and electrical powertrain systems for vehicles. We are investing in both, and growing faster than the market in both. One figure illustrates our dynamic progress here: In 2021, our orders relating to electromobility exceeded ten billion euros for the first time. Second, we are opting for hydrogen and developing the applications for it. Green hydrogen is essential if we want to make our world climate neutral. Contrary to what some people believe, hydrogen is by no means something that only the steel and chemicals industries need. It makes sense to use it in nearly every sector – whether in buildings as a replacement for natural gas, or in order to wean trucks and machinery off diesel. Technologically, there is nothing to prevent this. As a green fuel, hydrogen can be easily transported and imported. It will be up to the markets to find economical solutions for its distribution. In every sector, using hydrogen helps mitigate global warming. As we see it, far-sighted industrial policy is about setting the right priorities for applications, but not excluding any sector from using hydrogen. On the contrary, all sectors should be made ready for it. In concrete terms, this means establishing filling-station infrastructure for hydrogen-powered vehicles and incentivizing hydrogen-ready gas-fired boilers, also in hybrid systems that are combined with a heat pump. Bosch wants not only to use hydrogen technology, but also to be one of the companies manufacturing it. That’s why we will enter the components business for hydrogen electrolysis by mid-decade. We have a broad basis from which to develop hydrogen technologies, and we are currently ramping up our investments in our core plants. For us, new energy for climate action is also a social mission. Everything we do supports the European Union’s Green Deal. At the same time, however, we are aware of what is happening in other regions of the world. We have noted that the Japanese ministry of industry has set its long-term focus on synthetic fuels as well. We see that traditional oil-producing countries are well placed to diversify and become carbon neutral – with abundant local solar energy to produce green hydrogen inexpensively. The hydrogen economy will happen globally, and Bosch must be open to all scenarios. Last but not least, digitalization also has a special role to play in sustainability. Bosch solutions such as the smart home energy manager and the connected manufacturing energy platform are two good examples, and they will be addressed in more detail later. In all our business sectors, we are focusing on both connectivity and artificial intelligence. We turned our attention to these before others did. Over the next three years, we will be investing another ten billion euros in digitally transforming our business. In other words, we are devoting more and more energy to the interplay between the internet of things and artificial intelligence. When software-defined cars make their driverless and accident-free way through traffic, it will be with Bosch on board and in the cloud. To make this happen, we are developing platforms and functions in equal measure. Artificial intelligence is progressing faster than expected. Our new wafer fab in Dresden is a prime example. The AI-based quality approval system in place there helps us save time and money, reducing local startup costs by nearly 100 million euros. At our company locations, we are already “decoding tomorrow.” We will be taking a much closer look at digitalization at events later in the year, such as the Bosch Connected World in November. At today’s annual press conference, however, our main theme is energy. It crops up in all my colleagues’ presentations, be they about buildings, industry, or transportation. But before we turn to them, Markus Forschner will take a look at the business situation … Dr. Markus Forschner: 2021 brought to a successful close – growing pressure on result Given present developments, I will be devoting a lot of my attention today to the current business year. The impact of the war in Ukraine, including the subsequent ongoing increases in raw materials prices, will affect us as well. As yet, however, our business figures reflect this development only to a limited extent. As was highlighted when the preliminary business figures were presented in February, we rose well to the challenges of 2021. We were able to grow Bosch Group sales by 10.1 percent, to 78.7 billion euros, and increase our EBIT from operations by more than 50 percent, to 3.2 billion euros. We thus improved our EBIT margin from operations to 4 percent, compared with 2.8 percent in the previous year. We achieved all this despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, continued supply bottlenecks for semiconductors, and raw materials prices that were already significantly higher. In addition to our good sales figures, our extensive cost-cutting measures have also paid off. All business sectors contributed to our positive financial result last year. Mobility Solutions increased sales by 7.6 percent. In addition, following the previous year’s loss, the business sector returned to a slightly positive result with an EBIT margin from operations of 0.7 percent. But while we have made good progress here, we cannot be satisfied with such a margin. Even in 2021, there was a lot of pressure on result from the increased costs for chips, raw materials, and logistics. Moreover, the Mobility Solutions business sector is particularly exposed to chip shortages and is having to prepare for profound changes in mobility. These changes will continue to require significant adjustment-related cost; at the same time, we are making substantial upfront investments in electromobility and automated driving. The Industrial Technology and Consumer Goods business sectors were particularly successful. Industrial Technology benefited from the recovery of key mechanical engineering markets, achieving sales growth of 18.9 percent and an EBIT margin of 8.4 percent. After a strong showing last year, Consumer Goods was able to further increase its sales by 12.7 percent, and again achieved a double-digit margin from operations, at 10.2 percent. Energy and Building Technology also performed well, with a 7.8 percent increase in sales and an improved margin of 5.1 percent. This is due in part to our success with climate-friendly heating technology. My colleagues will address key strategic focal points shortly. The positive financial result is also reflected in the development of headcount. As of December 31, 2021, the Bosch Group employed more than 402,000 people worldwide – some 7,600 more than the previous year. Headcount increased in all three major regions, and remained stable in Germany at more than 131,000. In research and development, headcount grew by roughly 3,000 to more than 76,000 associates. I would like to mention a few more numbers that underscore our orientation to the future, as well as our sound financial position. Research and development cost rose to 6.1 billion euros, compared with 5.9 billion euros in the previous year, and capital expenditure increased to 3.9 billion euros, compared with 3.3 billion euros. Research and development cost focused on electromobility and driver assistance systems, as well as on electrification in industry and heating technology. Special mention should be made here of the new wafer fab we opened in Dresden last year. Thanks to improved result, our equity ratio rose 1.3 points to 45.3 percent. Further details can be found in our annual report, which is completely electronic for the first time – with user-friendly navigation options in the PDF. Now for some remarks on the 2022 business year. Bosch Group sales are up 5.2 percent for the first three months of the year. The Mobility Solutions business sector has posted an increase of 4.8 percent. Two business sectors have grown by double digits: Industrial Technology, at 14.4 percent, and Energy and Building Technology, at 11.7 percent. We have achieved 1.7 percent growth in Consumer Goods. Growth is leveling off in consumer goods for homes and gardens, where changes in consumer focus during the coronavirus pandemic led to particularly high demand. From a regional perspective, sales in the first quarter have grown particularly in Asia Pacific and the Americas, while stagnating on their previous-year level in Europe. Any estimates for the year as a whole are bound up with considerable uncertainties. We, too, have already significantly lowered our expectations for business activity. We now expect to see global economic growth of 3½ percent in 2022, compared with the 4¼ percent stated in the annual report. In addition, the annual report’s forecast for automotive manufacturing of some 88 million vehicles worldwide, and thus an increase of 9 percent, probably won’t be met. The reasons for this are the resurgence in adverse effects from the coronavirus pandemic in China and the ongoing chip shortages. In light of the current circumstances, it is difficult to forecast Bosch Group sales and result for 2022 as a whole. Besides the uncertainty as to how the situation in Ukraine will develop and what its impact will be going forward, it is currently unclear what consequences the new lockdowns in China will have for economic development. At present, we expect to exceed the 6 percent sales growth forecast in our annual report. One contributing factor we are currently seeing is the sales-boosting effect of prices and exchange-rate movements. But despite the expected sales increases, it is unlikely we will fully achieve our target of an EBIT margin on a par with the previous year. It should be in the range of 3 to 4 percent. However, it is not yet possible to precisely quantify the earnings impact of the loss of business in Russia. As you know, our deliveries to Russia have largely come to a halt due to the sanctions, and most of our business with Russian customers and in Russia has been suspended. In addition, the burden on our result is growing considerably due to steep increases in the cost of energy, raw materials, and logistics. The current cost pressure is immense, especially in the Mobility Solutions business sector. It’s not just automakers that have to pass on price increases, but especially suppliers such as us as well. To explain the enormous cost pressure relating to raw materials, let me give you the example of the indexed development of flat and round steel, two materials that are very important for us. As you can see, their prices have approximately tripled since 2020. After a slight temporary decrease, they have been given an extra boost by the Ukraine crisis. The strained supply situation is being made significantly more tense by the key role Russia plays in supplying raw materials, particularly to Europe. This means we must prepare for continued high prices and very volatile markets. These increases in the prices of raw materials aren’t making it easy for governments, central banks, or companies to ensure economic stability. They are also likely to have a negative impact on consumer behavior. While demand will likely remain relatively stable in 2022, we have to prepare for a slowdown in 2023. Nonetheless, as a company, we are confident that Bosch will rise to the challenge of this difficult phase as well. What’s important here is that we have pioneering products and a clear long-term strategic focus. On the topic of sustainability, I would like to turn the floor over to Filiz Albrecht. Filiz Albrecht: Sustainability has become a core business responsibility Gone are the days, ladies and gentlemen, when sustainability seemed a nice-to-have addition to ongoing business. It has become a must-have and a core business responsibility, and that’s a good thing. This change is also being driven by increasing regulation, not only under the EU’s Green Deal but also under Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act. Three years ago at this press conference, we presented our goal of making Bosch – with its 400 locations worldwide – carbon neutral. In 2020, we achieved this goal, becoming the first global industrial enterprise to do so. We did it voluntarily, just like the introduction of the 8-hour workday in our plants more than 100 years earlier. Now as then, it appears that regulations are catching up with corporate responsibility. Our responsibility continues to encompass the trio of economic, social, and ecological concerns. It’s not easy to keep these three things in balance. In times of change, social responsibility means taking as many associates as possible with us into new areas of business. We do this with reskilling and company-wide job placement platforms. This measure alone has meant we were able to help 1,400 associates in our powertrain operations take on new jobs in fields such as software and electromobility. Unconventional location-policy decisions also help in this regard: it is not on greenfield sites that we are developing climate-neutral technology, but instead primarily at locations that previously produced combustion systems. In this way, nearly 2,300 associates will be working on mobile and stationary fuel cells by the end of the year – and we filled 90 percent of these positions internally. This is transformation “made by Bosch” – as is the way we will be taking on 10,000 new software engineers worldwide this year. Ecological responsibility also begins at home. For example, we have significantly enhanced the quality of our carbon neutrality across our global network of locations. In other words, we are relying on ever fewer carbon offsets. Since 2019, we have initiated 3,000 projects that boost energy efficiency at our locations. Thanks to these projects, we have already realized one-third of the energy savings we set out to achieve by the end of the decade. And we’re moving just as quickly in addressing climate action along our supply chains. To this end, we agreed with the Science Based Targets initiative on a binding target for the current decade. We’re on our way to achieving this target: while making our own business carbon neutral was in itself a big step, we are now reducing our carbon footprint by twice as much each year, from our suppliers to our customers. Our purchasing department is working to make this happen, as is every one of our divisions. There are three levers over which we have immediate control: first, more circular economy; second, more energy efficiency in our existing products; and third, shifting our product portfolio toward climate-neutral products. Climate action isn’t something we aim to do alongside or on top of our business – we are making it our business. Christian Fischer will now talk more about this. Dr. Christian Fischer: More than one way to transition to alternative heating in buildings Bosch Thermotechnology is a clear example of how aggressively we are developing our portfolio in response to the challenges of climate change, as well as of how crucial it is that we develop a range of answers. It is well known that more than one-third of carbon emissions comes from buildings, so climate action has to take place in people’s homes as well. The German government has set an ambitious goal for this: by 2024, it wants 65 percent of new heating systems to be powered by renewables. Bosch can help realize this goal, but here, too, there is more than one path forward. Whether in buildings or on the road, we embrace the principle of “electrification first.” In concrete terms, this means that the transition to alternative heating starts with the heat pump, ideally powered by green electricity. Market developments are clearly pointing in this direction. This year, the value of the heat-pump market in Europe has caught up with that of the gas-fired boiler market. It will expand by an annual 15 to 20 percent between now and 2025, and we want to grow at twice that rate – by between 30 and 40 percent, in other words. To achieve this, over the last four years we have invested 400 million euros, and we will invest an additional 300 million euros by mid-decade. Investment gives rise to innovation. We have developed a solution for integrating heat pumps into home energy management and thus also for running them in partial-load mode as needed. This lowers both electricity consumption and noise, making it easier to live with the transition to alternative heating. But a nuanced view is needed here. Heat pumps pay off especially in new buildings, but 70 percent of all houses in Germany are more than 50 years old. So how can we ensure that existing buildings make the transition to alternative heating? Tearing down and rebuilding entire neighborhoods can’t be the answer, but switching from natural gas heating systems to hydrogen can. Fortunately, the gas network in many European countries is already hydrogen-ready – in Germany, that is true of 96 percent of all pipelines. Still, equipment will need to be prepared in time for the transition. The United Kingdom is a role model in this regard. There, new gas-fired boilers have to be hydrogen-ready as early as 2026. In early 2023, a large-scale field test involving 300 hydrogen heating systems will launch in Scotland, and one in every two of those will be a Bosch system. We are setting the pace for the transition to alternative heating in every way we can. We are bringing not just new energy sources into homes but also energy efficiency. We’re doing this with a large portfolio of home appliances that conserve resources, as well as with the energy manager for smart homes, which enables smart distribution of, say, solar energy to the washing machine, the heat pump, or the battery storage unit. This lowers electricity costs by nearly 60 percent. The energy and cost-efficiency equation is also helping climate action gain traction in commercial buildings. The savings are considerable: for example, our solutions have helped us lower the annual energy costs at the Robert Bosch Hospital by as much as 1.3 million euros. Not least, this extra efficiency is made possible by connecting and integrating building systems – it’s a telling sign that two out of three invitations to tender in building technology today relate to integrated projects. Bosch is growing faster than the market – also through acquisitions. Most recently, we acquired Hörburger, a specialist in building automation. At the same time, this is bringing us closer to our goal of increasing the share of regularly recurring revenues from services. After all, services already account for almost half of all sales in the building systems business. So our strategic objectives – helping shape climate action with technology and expanding our service business – complement each other. And with that, I turn the floor over to Rolf Najork. Rolf Najork: Industrial technology is driving electrification It is precisely in industrial manufacturing, where rationalization originated, that it has to prove possible to combine economic and ecological objectives. The energy and cost-efficiency equation is, in fact, driving climate action in factories – and digitalization is a crucial element here as well. Thanks to connected energy management alone, we are reducing the annual energy consumption of our manufacturing operations by an average of 5 percent. The Energy Platform from our Industry 4.0 portfolio is already in use in 80 customer projects and at 120 Bosch locations. Adding artificial intelligence generates even more efficiency. For instance, our plant in Changsha, China, developed an AI-controlled energy management system that enabled it to reduce its annual energy consumption by 18 percent. That’s reason enough for the World Economic Forum to honor Changsha as a global lighthouse for Industry 4.0. We are also embracing electrification in our industrial technology. It is especially in the kind of mobile machinery used in ports, on construction sites, and in mining that we are seeing a trend toward this. Such applications will see stricter emissions and noise regulations, and will require robust technology that is “Invented for life.” Bosch Rexroth, the global market leader in mobile hydraulics, will already begin expanding its portfolio this year to include electrical components for drives and operating gear. This will make it possible to electrify both the driving and the buckets of excavators, to name just one example. This eLion product range will comprise 80 motor options based on different nominal sizes graded according to torque and speed – the broadest offering in the industry. This, too, shows what is typical of Bosch. Our strength lies in the combination of different strengths: experience in electrical solutions for industry, industry-specific knowledge in off-highway equipment, and expertise in electromobility. We expect 30 percent of mobile machinery to be electrified by 2030. This translates into an additional market volume for high-voltage systems worth 1.5 billion euros. Here, too, our new product portfolio puts us at the forefront. Finally, we are advancing electric driving on the road through our industry technology. In a project unit with VW, we are working to establish a company that will equip battery-cell factories in Europe. Our common objective is to be the cost and technology leader in systems for the volume production of batteries. With our experience in factory automation, we see potential for greater productivity in core processes, such as in cell assembly. We are contributing the full spectrum of our industry technology expertise: drive and control technology, assembly and process technology, and software for Industry 4.0. We already offer solutions for the production and recycling of battery modules and packs. Providing technology for battery-cell manufacturing will round out this portfolio. And we can expect strong demand – with a cumulative market volume of 50 billion euros worldwide by 2030. More than 30 new cell factories are currently being planned in Europe alone, six of them at VW. No other segment in the plant and mechanical engineering sector currently has greater prospects for growth. Bosch is driving electromobility from two sides: not only as an automotive supplier, but also as a supplier of factory equipment. Markus Heyn will now talk more about electric driving. Dr. Markus Heyn: Alternative mobility also means electromobility plus fuel cells Starting in 2035, new cars in Europe will no longer be allowed to emit CO2. By including this requirement in its Green Deal, the EU is providing a decisive boost to the electrification of road traffic. It comes at a time when the automotive industry is experiencing extremely high economic pressure. In percentage terms, automaker’s retail prices for new vehicles have increased on average by a high single-digit figure. The price of new electric cars, for example, has risen by just under 8 percent in the past two months alone. And Bosch will also have to pass on to its customers the costs for raw materials, chips, and logistics – which have again risen considerably. My colleague Markus Forschner has already made this perfectly clear. Only then can we continue to operate our automotive supply business at a profit. At least the market for electric vehicles is gaining momentum. All automakers are eager to secure the greatest possible share of this market. Bosch sees itself as the number one supplier for electrical powertrains on the road as well. We are doing all we can to make electromobility even more practicable. For example, we are keeping the powertrain, including the battery, at the right temperature and providing the necessary climate comfort in the passenger compartment – intelligent thermal management alone increases electric driving range by 25 percent. It accounts for around four times more value creation in electric vehicles than in diesel- or gasoline-powered ones. To this end, Bosch has developed a pre-integrated solution: the flexible thermal unit, or FTU. This solution significantly reduces system costs and complexity: fewer parts, fewer assembly steps, fewer coolant lines, and thus less coolant weight. With the FTU alone, we are tapping into a market that will reach a volume of 3.5 billion euros by the end of the decade. In addition, we are making good progress in electromobility on both of the key technological paths. The first is Bosch’s growth in the battery-electric mobility business. Since 2018, we have acquired 170 commercial projects – 60 of those in 2021 alone. The market is seeing strong growth, and ours is even stronger. Our unit sales are increasing annually at double-digit rates. In 2025, our sales will surpass the five billion euro mark, with components for purely electric cars accounting for 70 percent by then. Our capital expenditure remains on a high level – the figure for this year is more than 500 million euros. The other path will open up once Bosch launches its electromobility based on fuel cells. Specifically, we will start production of fuel-cell powertrains for trucks this year. Our technology already completed a good 100,000 test kilometers in 2021, driven by Chinese prototypes. Our Bamberg plant in Germany will start producing fuel-cell stacks in 2022. By the middle of the decade, we aim to be producing stacks with a gigawatt output at that site – our giga-factory, if you will. To this end, assembly of the complete fuel-cell system will begin in Stuttgart-Feuerbach in 2023, with some components also being supplied from Homburg. This cooperation clearly shows that our core plants are generating innovations. The Wuxi location, which serves our Chinese customers, will also be involved. By 2030, it should cost no more to operate a fuel-cell truck than a diesel – that’s our goal. We have the necessary expertise in commercialization to achieve this, such as a process that exists only at Bosch: high-speed laser welding, to make 1,000 meters of hydrogen-impermeable weld seams per stack. Major capital expenditure will also be required. We have increased ours once again, to nearly one billion euros between 2021 and 2024. But that’s not all. In the same period, we will invest half a billion euros in stationary fuel-cell technology. So Bosch is positioning itself broadly here as well – we are thinking beyond mobility. Stationary fuel cells are typically used in micro power plants, or to supply electricity to data centers or city districts. For these cells as well, production is being ramped up in our core plants – in Bamberg, Homburg, and Wernau. We plan to launch stationary fuel cells on the market in 2024. In order to tap the Chinese market, we are also planning a joint venture with our partners Ceres Power and Weichai. We expect the global market to be worth 20 billion euros by 2030, and have a good chance of becoming one of the top three providers. With that, I turn the floor back over to Stefan Hartung. Dr. Stefan Hartung: Three billion euros for climate-neutral technology Ladies and gentlemen, we are coming to the close of our presentation. A sustainable way of life is coming – it has to come. With dependence on fossil fuels being exploited in international conflicts, we must now work with even more determination to do what our planet requires of us: to diversify our energy use. Bosch is pursuing this in all its business sectors, both as a transition to alternative heating and a transition to alternative mobility. Our strategic imperative – technology that is “Invented for life” – also means making life with this transition as easy as possible. For instance, we are launching a connected wallbox that lets users control electric vehicle charging at home with an app. It can also be integrated into the smart home energy manager. In addition, Bosch wouldn’t be Bosch if we were to leave a promising development untouched. That’s why we’re also working on hydrogen engines for heavy trucks. And as mentioned earlier, we want to use our technology not least to support the expansion of hydrogen production in Europe. We will supply the stack – the core of the hydrogen electrolysis system – which combines with the power electronics, sensors, and control unit to form a smart module. Our development is aimed at the market for electrolyzer components, which we expect to be worth 14 billion euros worldwide by 2030. We plan to invest nearly 500 million euros in this area by the end of the decade, half of it by the time of market launch, which we are planning for 2025. Altogether, our upfront investments in technologies aimed at climate neutrality total a good three billion euros over three years. No other company can match the way we are diversifying with these kinds of technologies. Yet for all this diversification, our strategy can be summed up in one sentence: We’re already well underway with electricity-based solutions, and hydrogen-based ones will pick up speed as well. That isn’t to say that we won’t have to invent a few technologies along the way, or that a few other technologies aren’t still too costly. But technologically, we mustn’t make the mistake of restricting ourselves to the solutions that are already in use today. Electrification and green hydrogen: we’ll need both if we are to live sustainably on our blue planet.

Bosch Group

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High tech #LikeABosch – how we’re delivering better quality of life with connect ...

04.01.2022

Presentations

Business/economy

High tech #LikeABosch – how we’re delivering better quality of life with connect ...

Dr. Tanja Rückert, chief digital officer of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America, at the Consumer Electronics Show on January 4, 2022 Check against delivery. Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Bosch press conference! We’re delighted to have you with us digitally today. Although we regret that the pandemic has once again prevented us from meeting face to face, of course everyone’s health has top priority. The good news is that we can safely come together in a virtual manner, all thanks to technology. And that fits in perfectly with what we want to talk to you about today. Specifically, we want to talk about the benefits and opportunities offered by technology, and the positive impact it can have. Technology for a better world – today and tomorrow You’ve just seen the premiere of the latest installment of our #LikeABosch” campaign: “high tech #LikeABosch.” “High tech” may be a familiar term here at CES, but we at Bosch have a slightly different take on things. Today, we want to tell you about how our approach to high tech is not just about pushing the envelope on what’s possible. Instead, it’s about using cutting-edge technology as a means to improve people’s lives wherever they are: at home, at work, on the road, in a hospital, or even in orbit! As a company committed to delivering life-enhancing innovations, we center our development around people. But especially at a time of such profound technological change, it’s not enough for companies to assume we have all the answers. To truly give people what they need and want, we have to understand what these are – and what hesitations and concerns are attached to them. And so we did exactly this: we conducted a comprehensive international survey to gauge opinions on a wide range of technology-related topics. We asked a representative sample of people in five countries – China, Germany, India, the U.K., and the U.S. – to tell us how technological progress looks from their point of view, what they want most from technology, and where they see both the most promise and the most risk. The inaugural Bosch Tech Compass is having its global debut right here at CES. Over the course of our press conference we’ll be sharing with you some of our most interesting and relevant findings. To start with, let’s look at what for us is perhaps the most significant finding of all. As the survey showed, confidence in technology and enthusiasm about its impact are high across the globe. A full 72 percent of respondents worldwide believe that technology is making the world a better place. Above all, they believe technology is bringing them increased comfort and safety, and that it’s making work easier. And they’re optimistic about its potential, too: most significantly, 76 percent of people globally are convinced that technology holds the key to combating climate change. At Bosch, we agree wholeheartedly. After all, we’re also firmly convinced that technology has the potential to make all our lives better – that’s why “Invented for life” is not just our claim, it’s our strategic imperative. We only need to look at our portfolio for proof: think of beneficial and even lifesaving innovations such as our vehicle electronic stability program ESP, airbag control units, our digital guardian angel Help Connect, or the rapid coronavirus PCR test we developed for our Vivalytic device last year. When it comes to climate change, we at Bosch take the fight against it very seriously: we were the first global industrial enterprise to achieve carbon neutrality at all our international locations. We’re working now on reducing emissions generated along our supply chains and during the lifecycle of our products by 15 percent by 2030. In terms of volume, this is 67 million metric tons, a figure roughly twenty times greater than what our locations emitted in our baseline year of 2018. We’re also sharing our experiences and supporting other companies’ carbon neutrality efforts via our consulting company Bosch Climate Solutions. We’re driving sustainability with our products as well, enabling those who use them to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, our U.S.-based building technology subsidiary Climatec won a 35 million-dollar contract from the City of Ontario in California to boost its energy efficiency, safety, and connectivity. Within the framework of the “Smart Ontario” project, we’ll be retrofitting the city’s infrastructure with smart, connected solutions such as building automation and LED streetlights that should reduce local greenhouse gas emissions by over 10,000 tons annually. And to pursue our longstanding vision of climate-friendly mobility, we supply a full range of components and systems solutions for electromobility – in fact, no other company offers as wide a range as Bosch: from battery-electric powertrains to regenerative braking systems to fuel cells, powering everything from e-bikes to commercial vehicles. Speaking of e-bikes, they’re at the intersection of two major drivers for our business: electrification and connectivity. It wasn’t too long ago that an e-bike was a niche product. Now it has become one of the most popular forms of personal transport worldwide. But what does connectivity have to do with an e-bike? It’s the basis for a personalized e-bike experience like never before. This is exactly what our new system generation – called the eBike Smart System – offers its users. This innovation, which is a 2022 CES ® Innovation Award Honoree, was first introduced late last year and will be available for a mass audience to see and demo for the first time in the U.S. here at CES. With this entirely new system consisting of our eBike Flow app, control unit, display, battery, and drive unit, we’re merging the physical experience of riding an e-bike with digital conveniences like connectivity, personalization, and services. For example, in the future, your e-bike will be able to adapt to your riding style, suggest routes you enjoy, and guide you safely to your destination while learning your preferences and interests. Thanks to connectivity, the bike is not a static product, but one that can continually evolve after purchase. The experience can be constantly enriched with new digital experiences thanks to over-the-air updates. This is just one example of how connectivity is at the heart of all our products. In fact, we’re delighted to announce that we reached an important goal set several years ago: 100 percent of all our electronic product classes are now web-enabled. This means that for nearly everything we produce, we can now realize functions such as wireless updates and web-based services. Just think of the beneficial services we’ve already realized by putting cars online: our emergency notification service eCall, for instance, or our wrong-way driver warning. Bosch is an IoT and software company This milestone is a key proof point for how Bosch has evolved into a software and IoT company. We currently employ approximately 35,000 software developers. Overall, our annual investments in building up software competence amount to more than four and a half billion dollars. This means that we understand both sides of the coin better than most other companies – particularly when it comes to connecting things to the internet. Just let me give you an idea of what we’ve achieved recently in two of our key domains: home and mobility. When it comes to technology for the home, Bosch sold 4 million web-enabled power tools, home appliances, and heating systems in 2020; in 2021 this number increased to over 6 million – which is 50 percent growth! In the mobility sector as well, software is paramount – cars are becoming internet nodes. This has been a Bosch vision for quite a while, and we’re ideally positioned to play a major role in creating the software-defined car. In our Mobility Solutions business sector, we’re investing nearly three and a half billion dollars annually in building up our software competence in this domain. At the beginning of last year, our new Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division started operations, bringing together hardware and software development for new automotive electronics architectures. This year we’re taking the additional step of pooling our work on application-independent vehicle software for cars and the cloud at our subsidiary ETAS GmbH. This means that we’ll be able to provide solutions to manufacturers and other suppliers more quickly, securely, and efficiently in the future. In addition to optimizing our organization and building up our expertise, we’re engaging in partnerships to propel our technology leadership in the mobility sector forward. For example, together with Microsoft we’re strengthening our position in software development for all domains – from the car to the cloud. It’s also enabling us to speed up feature development to bring new software functions to vehicles faster. In this collaboration we’re making great progress toward developing an open technology platform that will enable the acceleration of automotive development cycles. Last but not least, increasing demand for software comes along with an increasing need for software integration. Here, given our domain knowledge, Bosch is at home and can provide the necessary integration know-how. Take automated driving, for example. An automated vehicle must be able to do everything a human driver can do: perceive its surrounding, make decisions, and accelerate, brake, and steer. Bosch has all the different building blocks for automated driving in our portfolio and, step by step, we’re laying the technical groundwork. With our driver assistance systems, we’re already paving the way for all levels of automation. And this is paying off: to give you an example, over the past five years, Bosch made more than 10 billion dollars in sales with driver assistance systems. From components to systems, and from software to services – when it comes to tomorrow’s mobility, all roads lead to Bosch. To give you a sense of the range of technologies we offer, and how they’ll be seamlessly integrated in future vehicles, we are showing a glimpse in our booth of how software, personalization, automation, connectivity, and electrification will unlock infinite possibilities to shape the way we get from points A to B in the future. Bosch on its way to becoming a leading data-driven AI company Speaking of the future, when asked what they think the most influential technology will be in ten years, Bosch Tech Compass respondents across the globe agreed that it will be AI and 5G. At Bosch, we’ve made AI a major strategic focus. We want to use connectivity and data collected over the IoT combined with artificial intelligence – AIoT for short – to continuously improve our products and services. A milestone on our path to become a leading data-driven AI company was the establishment of the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence in 2017. The BCAI currently operates at 7 locations in the U.S., Germany, India, Israel, and China. So far it has worked on more than 200 projects in the mobility, manufacturing, agriculture, and smart-home domains, and has already contributed nearly 350 million dollars to our global result. In systematically building up our expertise in AI, we’re also working toward a concrete goal: by 2025, every Bosch product will either be equipped with AI or manufactured with its help. One new product featuring AI that we’re showcasing here is our latest Home Connect fridge, which can identify its contents and suggest recipes based on what’s inside – which might not only get you out of a dinnertime rut, but can also help you use up what might otherwise go to waste. Another very special example which demonstrates how we continue to develop solutions for maximum benefit is our SoundSee technology. This acoustic technology had its debut aboard the International Space Station, where it uses AI to help monitor the health of critical systems on the ISS, such as the space station’s environmental control and life-support systems. And today we’re announcing for the first time a new use case for audio AI based on the same technology currently aboard the ISS. Together with Highmark Health in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we’re exploring the use of audio AI as a diagnostic tool in pediatric medicine. Specifically, we’re working on adapting these experimental sensors to detect pulmonary conditions such as asthma at an early age, just by listening to children’s breathing patterns. Our hypothesis is that each child has a sort of audio fingerprint, and that the use of audio AI can be used to learn a child’s normal pulmonary sounds. Should something change, then the idea is that the AI will pick this up, which will potentially lead to early therapy and better outcomes. Ideally this technology will enable us to monitor kids in a non-invasive manner and alert the parents at a far earlier stage when there is a variation from the child’s baseline. Ultimately, we see the combination of AI and the IoT as holding the key to leveraging the most user benefit from both of these technologies. Think of it as a continuous improvement loop. Connected products transmit data, which is then processed with the help of AI algorithms. Optimizations are identified, then fed back to the products in the form of software updates, and the cycle starts again. In effect, this allows customers to be an integral part of the development process, and for solutions to be tailored precisely to their needs. The result is better solutions for our customers – as well as new revenue streams for us, since it will enable us to turn the sale of every digital product into services-based revenue as well. Trust and responsibility are decisive for success Like the Bosch Tech Compass respondents, we also believe that the impact of artificial intelligence and next-generation connectivity will be huge. In order to realize the full potential of these new technologies, however, they must gain widespread acceptance. For this, we must not only make the benefits comprehensible for people, we need to build trust in the technology and in the companies that create it. In fact, the same is true of all new digital technologies: trust must be established, not taken for granted. Going back to the results of the survey, this was one of the strongest points of agreement among all the respondents. Four out of five people across the globe believe that a company’s success will ultimately depend on its ability to build digital trust with its customers. To gain trust, of course, companies must act responsibly: in dealing with sensitive data, in balancing economic and ecological considerations, and in leveraging innovation for the common good. Respondents to our survey agree on this as well: a whopping 83 percent of respondents think that technological progress should be more focused on confronting society’s challenges rather than on serving individual needs. Above all, what emerges from the Bosch Tech Compass is that people are more aware than ever of both the potential and the pitfalls offered by technology, and that they want those who create it as well as those who legislate its use – in other words, companies and policymakers – to take responsibility for steering its development in the right direction. At Bosch, we’ve always prioritized trust and responsibility in our pursuit of technological advancement. This was true for the analog world, and it’s even more true for the digital world, where trust is in short supply. Above all, we want to lead by example when it comes to using innovation as a force for good, not just for profit. That’s why we’ve published an AI code of ethics for our own developers, and why we’re explicitly and exclusively committed to AI that is safe, robust, and explainable. It’s also why we are the driving force behind the Digital Trust Forum, a global consortium of representatives from different stakeholder groups whose aim is to foster a high level of trust in AI and IoT-based solutions. In particular, we’re working with our partners to develop trust policy frameworks and eventual certification and conformity labels. The plan is that products that meet certain criteria will bear a Digital Trust seal – along the lines of the energy-efficiency labels you see on home appliances, for instance. Of course, trust and acceptance also depend on people seeing the concrete benefits a new technology can deliver. Here I’d like to highlight a Bosch innovation that again demonstrates the incredible potential of AI. It’s a gas sensor – the first one on the market equipped with artificial intelligence – and it’s being used in a truly revolutionary new product. Dryad’s Silvanet Wildfire Sensor is a pioneering new solution for ultra-early wildfire detection, and our gas sensor is its digital nose. Apart from the unfathomable devastation wildfires cause, did you know that they account for up to 20 percent of annual global carbon emissions? That’s as much as the entire transportation sector combined – in other words all the cars, ships, and planes on the planet. Dryad’s sensors are mounted on trees, where they continuously monitor the local microclimate in order to detect flames early – and wirelessly notify local authorities long before camera or satellite-based systems can. These sensors are going to help save lives, homes, and tons of CO 2 from entering the atmosphere – all thanks to AI and connectivity. Solutions for a better world At Bosch, our aim is and always has been to improve people’s daily lives with our products and solutions. The Bosch Tech Compass respondents are optimistic about the beneficial potential of technology, and so are we: that’s why we continue to work on cutting-edge innovations that are designed to make life better for everyone across the globe. This is light years beyond high tech, it’s “high tech #LikeABosch”! Thank you.

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