Bosch invests one billion euros in the development and production of heat pumps.
(Photo: dpa)
Stuttgart Bosch is investing one billion euros in thermal technology by 2028, a quarter of it in a new heat pump plant in Dobromierz, Poland. The small town near the German border is in an economic zone with financial incentives for setting up production facilities. Production in the new plant is scheduled to start in 2025, the foundation group announced.
Bosch’s deputy boss Christian Fischer said: “Heat pump technology is a European success story that we want to continue.” In the company management, Fischer is responsible for thermotechnology, among other things. In an interview with the Handelsblatt, he had already announced that he would invest more heavily in the heat pump business.
Bosch intends to invest the remaining three quarters of the money in its European location network. In addition to the German sites in Eibelshausen and Wernau, this also includes Tranas in Sweden and Aveiro in Portugal. In addition, Bosch is involved in a joint venture with Electra Industries in Israel, which develops reversible heat pumps that can heat and cool.
Heat pump market grows by 20 percent
The heat pump business is booming and has gained additional momentum as a result of the suspension of gas and oil supplies from Russia in the course of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Annual growth of around 20 percent is forecast for the entire European heat pump market up to 2025. During the running
decade, 30 million additional heat pumps are to be installed in the European Union. Bosch also wants to “grow significantly faster than the market,” said Jan Brockmann, head of Bosch building technology.
To achieve this, Bosch has to invest heavily in development because competition is growing in the market. Sales of heat pumps are currently increasing very rapidly. In 2022, 236,000 heat pumps were sold in Germany, 53 percent more than in the previous year. On the other hand, sales of classic gas heaters fell by eight percent.
This brings new competition to the heating market: The heating engineers must quickly initiate the transformation from the production of gas boilers to the heat pump business. In any case, German manufacturers can hardly keep up with production: numerous homeowners have to wait months for the heat pump they have ordered. Competitors Viessmann and Vaillant are already investing billions in heat pump production.
Vaillant’s new plant is already up and running
In mid-March, Vaillant commissioned a new mega-factory with an annual production capacity of 300,000 heat pumps in the Slovakian district of Senica. The company is thus doubling its total capacity to more than half a million heat pumps per year. Vaillant has invested around one billion euros in the expansion of the heat pump business since 2016 and intends to invest another billion in the coming years.
Viessmann also announced last spring that it would invest one billion euros in heat pumps and other green air-conditioning solutions over the next three years.
So that Vaillant, Viessmann and the additional competition from the air conditioning manufacturers do not rush, Bosch is now following suit.
More: Is the heat pump worth it in a long-term comparison?