The Robert Bosch GmbH emblem sits on the outside of Messe Stuttgart exhibition heart as vehicles go in Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, July 18, 2016.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
German auto provider Bosch mentioned Wednesday it should make investments greater than $200 million to construct gasoline cells for electrical vehicles in South Carolina.
Bosch plans to develop an current manufacturing facility in Anderson, South Carolina, to construct the gasoline cell “stacks” beginning in 2026. The funding is anticipated to create not less than 350 new jobs on the manufacturing facility, the corporate mentioned.
Bosch’s North America president, Mike Mansuetti, mentioned the corporate determined to spend money on U.S. manufacturing to assist “rising demand” from its automotive clients in North America.
“As our success in buying e-mobility enterprise right here within the area continues, it is important that now we have native manufacturing capabilities to assist our native clients,” Mansuetti mentioned in an announcement.
Gasoline cells chemically convert the power in hydrogen fuel to electrical energy, emitting solely water. Whereas costly to construct, the gadgets are discovering functions in giant electrical automobiles that may in any other case require excessively giant and heavy battery packs, comparable to semitrucks, development tools and army automobiles.
The gasoline cells constructed by Bosch in South Carolina might be used to energy electrical heavy vehicles, together with forthcoming fashions from Arizona-based EV truck startup Nikola, the corporate mentioned.
Nikola has begun pilot testing of a gasoline cell-powered model of its Tre electrical semitruck, with about 500 miles of vary. The corporate expects to start manufacturing of the gasoline cell-powered Tre by the end of next year, and to launch a second gasoline cell truck with 900 miles of vary in 2024.
