Complementary research for energy generation and mobility

Dr Andreas Kufferath is Vice President at Robert Bosch GmbH, responsible for Environment and Regulation within the Commercial Vehicles & Off-Road division. He has been Chair of FVV’s Scientific Advisory Committee since 2022. In this interview, he explains why technology neutrality in research is a core requirement for fast defossilisation in the European transport sector.

Text: Richard Backhaus | Photo: Sarah Kastner

What is your mission as Chair of FVV’s Scientific Advisory Committee?

I see my role as part of the teamwork that goes on throughout FVV’s Scientific Advisory Committee. We support FVV’s programme of technical and scientific research, safeguard the quality of the work and ensure that funding is distributed fairly and sensibly. That makes us the link between science, research bodies, members in industry, and the FVV Board. The Committee is made up of representatives from member companies who contribute different company viewpoints. As a result, we are able to take the various technologies in the individual fields into account and ensure that they are reflected in the projects. Our role is to sort through and channel the many good ideas contributed in the Research Committee, the Scientific Advisory Committee’s working group. In terms of content, one key aspect for me is that the research projects take a broad technological approach that is open to all reasonable options. This is the only way to implement climate protection effectively, ensuring high resilience and the necessary acceptance in society.

How do you assess FVV’s transformation process, moving away from combustion engines and towards a broad spectrum of sustainable energy conversion systems?

We began this transformation process quite a while ago now, and made careful planning and coordination with the member companies a major priority. Reflecting the transformation in the energy and mobility sectors, the initial focus on the combustion engine has now taken a back seat. In strategically assessing the technologies, we were very deliberate in focusing on sustainability, with all its environmental, economic and social aspects. It is important to strike a balance between these three dimensions in order to ensure quality of life in the long term. In addition, we have established a review process in which we continuously re-examine and adjust the change process. When I look at the transformation of mobility that is now under way across Europe, I am sad to say that this careful planning and execution are not evident everywhere. This presents our industry with enormous challenges. After all, what policymakers are currently demanding in many cases is not a transformation, but an unsustainable digital revolution.

Is it even possible for industry and the transport sector to achieve climate neutrality without a robust multi-pronged strategy?

Let’s have a look at my employer as an example. At Bosch, the transformation towards climate neutrality is at the top of the agenda. Battery-powered mobility is part of its core business, as it is a growth market that will dominate worldwide, especially in the car sector. At the same time, however, we remain committed to using all powertrain technologies in the mobility sector – based on our strong belief that using all technologies, many of which are complementary, is the fastest way to achieve climate-neutral mobility. We have committed to the climate targets and are investing heavily in electromobility, as well as in all other technologies such as hydrogen and e-fuels. That is why FVV, which pursues exactly this multi-path strategy, is the right place for us at Bosch.

You have extensive experience in industry. How do you contribute this expertise to your role at FVV?

FVV has accompanied me on various levels throughout my career. To start with, I was more of an observer of the various projects. I then joined a working group and even initiated projects myself. And later, I was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Committee, which I currently chair. I contributed my experience in each of these roles, but I was also always aware of the fact that I needed to constantly adapt my own knowledge-based point of view to technological developments. 

This reflection helps me, for example, to understand the challenges that those working on FVV projects in the research bodies face today. In recent years, I have also learned that good technical solutions are not always popular among all policymakers, even if they would be the right thing for society. I also like to contribute the experience I gained from these discussions to FVV, in order to entrench the multi-path transformation strategy among member companies and in the public consciousness. The orientation studies are a very important part of this. They look at the entire ecosystem and thus paint a realistic picture of the opportunities for implementing the net-zero carbon emissions target.

FVV supports research that is both pre-competitive and intended to be close to industry. How can this apparent contradiction be resolved?

Die Differentiating between pre-competitive research and development that can be directly incorporated into series production gives us at FVV the guiding principles that shape our work. Yet it does not limit us – in selecting and implementing the research projects, we are still able to focus on the benefits for industry. The orientation studies I mentioned before are a good example of this. What makes them special is the large number and vast knowledge of the experts involved in the associated working groups. This gives the studies a scope, depth and quality that an individual company, however large, would not be able to afford alone. Our collective research makes it possible. Another example is projects that look at detailed questions, such as regarding materials or measurement technology. Here, too, we can make a big difference at pre-competitive level. The cost pressure in development has risen enormously for companies in recent years. It is therefore important to view pre-competitive research as a reservoir of knowledge that the companies can dip into for their own development. Using synergies and complementary topics to achieve a high level of efficiency in research and development ultimately also boosts Europe as a business location.

How can the technology transfer of FVV research results into companies be optimised?

Companies should be suggesting topics in which they see a need for research in the working groups as project ideas. They should then play an active role in the projects in order to optimise the flow of information from the project to the company. However, transferring the high-quality information that is provided through FVV conferences and the THEMIS knowledge database, for example, into their own company is an individual and very specific challenge that depends greatly on the company structure and culture. It is impossible to take one-size-fits-all approach here.

Can you provide practical experience of how FVV research has been used for synergies at your employer?

One example is the transfer of research results in the field of exhaust gas aftertreatment. A few years ago, FVV initiated numerous projects that systematically examined the development of emissions in the interaction between the engine, the control software and exhaust gas aftertreatment. Thanks to this research, we were able to add to Bosch’s own activities in order to concentrate mainly on competition-related aspects in internal projects. A few years later, these fundamental principles were then applied to development and resulted in robust series products and systems that are used in millions of vehicles on the road today.

How can technical degree programmes be made more attractive to school leavers?

This is a very complex challenge facing society that is not given enough priority. Driven by ideological discussions, technology is often no longer seen as part of the solution, but as a problem. All societal, cultural and political structures need to create a climate of enthusiasm for technical degree programmes again. This process needs to start not at the moment when young people are choosing what to study – by that time it is usually too late to shape their interests. It needs to start much earlier, mainly in schools.

What does FVV offer the next generation?

For undergraduate and doctoral students, FVV is a unique platform for coming into contact with industry at an early stage and taking part in cutting-edge research with links to industry. The projects give them excellent insights into how industry thinks and works and allow them to gain experience in a project team, enhance their knowledge and expand their network. That is extremely helpful as they progress in their careers. I would like to see this dedication by FVV gain more attention. When it comes to my own company, I can say that we use collaboration with FVV for targeted acquisition of young staff. FVV offers ideal opportunities to meet highly motivated students via the research bodies. We have found a large number of employees for our research and development departments in this way, and many have remained with us to this day. //