Automotive Engineering - February 2022 - 26

Q&
A
Electrons, combustion, and Bosch
As president of the Powertrain Solutions Division at Robert
Bosch, veteran engineer Uwe Gackstatter wrestles the challenge
of cultivating new electrified technologies while continuing
to evolve those that make IC engines cleaner. At the
2021 IAA Munich show, he greeted SAE Media with the news
that electrification is moving quickly as a core business of
Bosch, with more than one billion euros in turnover thanks
to electrified drives, e-axles and power electronics. " We expect
to reach 5 billion [euros] in a few years, " he beamed.
" We are well prepared for all the battery-electric vehicles
that will be built in the future. Our entire interview can be
found at www.SAE.org, while highlights
appear here.
Many experts see the ICE continuing
through 2045-2050 in various applications.
How do you see the ICE
evolving during what could be a
long transition to electrification?
As a market leader in powertrain in
all vehicle segments, our approach
is country-by-country and customer-by-customer.
In Europe for example,
the big bet by the European
Commission is on battery-electric
vehicles. BEV will be the mainstream
of the pass-car segment. It's
no longer an 'open technology' approach.
By 2035 at the latest, every
vehicle has to be a BEV. And from
my view, fuel cells if the hydrogen
comes from renewables.
We see real differences in other
markets: much more of an open-technology
approach. The ICE business in
Japan, China and the U.S. is still existing
and cannot be switched overnight
to BEVs or fuel-cell vehicles.
The second path I see is alternative
fuels for ICEs, but not in Europe,
which has gone all-in on BEVs. But
in other regions such as Japan, they
want to develop an H2 society. I
think we will see all kinds of powertrains
there. Same in China. We've
seen in China's latest five-year plan
a clear commitment in the direction
of what are being called " H2 engines; "
these are ICEs fueled by hydrogen,
and there will be hydrogen
fuel cells. Luckily, Bosch is active
worldwide, so we can bring all of
our solutions to the market.
26 February 2022
What about hybrids?
In Europe, hybrids are coming under pressure. By 2035, the
hybrid solution will disappear due to the CO2 [vehicle emissions]
targets. We as a supplier, and also our customers, have
to react. In Europe, plug-in hybrids will come under more
pressure. This could be different in other markets where we
see different legislation. It also depends on the vehicle range;
the BEV is a perfect solution for driving only in urban areas.
But hybrids can be the best solution if you need longer range.
And with alternative fuels, the ICE can be CO2-neutral.
Unfortunately, those fuels are not available at scale. We have
to consider what can be used in existing
fleets.
The politicians are still ignoring the
fact that on this planet we have more
than 1.3 billion cars and they won't all
disappear in the next 20 years! At
Bosch for our internal fleet, we use
biofuels; this brought our CO2 balance
down. This is also possible
worldwide, for existing fleets. We are
working with partners on solutions
for bringing more alternative fuels to
the market.
Bosch global
propulsion
head Uwe
Gackstatter.
We cannot stop
developing the ICE,
because world-wide
they power 99 percent
of new vehicles in some
countries.
Does Bosch's development of evolutionary
technologies for ICEs
continue?
Yes. We cannot stop developing the
ICE, because they power 99 percent
of new vehicles in some countries
and the numbers will remain high
for many years. Vehicles run for up
to 40 years. Recently, we were
awarded by a German agency a
prize for the most efficient diesel
engine we developed for a Chinese
company.
It makes sense to still develop the
ICE because we will see many new
vehicles to come with a more-efficient
engine.
Read the full interview with
Bosch's Uwe Gackstatter on SAE.org.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
LINDSAY BROOKE
http://www.SAE.org http://www.SAE.org
Automotive Engineering - February 2022

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