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Bosch plans electric motor expansion to support EV growth

Bosch plans electric motor expansion to support EV growth
(The highly automated line uses AIU to boost productivity.)

Bosch said it will invest more than $260 million to expand production of electrification products at its Charleston, South Carolina, site.

Electric motor production at the site began in October at a 200,000-square-foot building on the Bosch Charleston campus. The new assembly area produces rotors and stators, as well as final electric motor assembly.

With new electromobility orders, the company plans to add around 75,000 square feet for future production. The expansion is expected to be operational by the end of 2023.

Production at the site is highly automated and uses artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 methods to gain more efficiency.

Bosch earlier announced it would produce fuel stacks in Anderson, South Carolina, as part of a separate $200 million investment that is expected to start production in 2026.

The Bosch Charleston facility opened in 1974 and is the German-based company’s largest manufacturing site in the United States. It employs 1,500 people and covers more than 900,000 square feet of floor space on 118 acres.

The new electric motor production will take place in a building formerly occupied by Bosch’s diesel component line. The company announced in January 2020 that diesel powertrain component production would be ramped down to make room for the expanding electrification business.

The facility will produce stators and rotors and also will handle final motor assembly. Credit: Bosch

The Charleston facility will produce the rotor and stator and the final assembly of electric motors that will drive electric vehicles. A rotor is the rotating part of the motor and contains magnets to create a magnetic field. A stator is static and made up of electric coils that are fed energy from alternating current coming from the power electronics via the battery. As current flows into the stator, the rotor’s magnetic field chases the magnetic field in the stator, creating the motion that is transferred to a vehicle’s wheels.

Bosch said its electric motors can deliver anywhere from 50 kW to up to 500 kW with torque ranging from 150 Nm to 1000 Nm and can achieve up to 98% efficiency. The motors offer a voltage range up to 850V, which the company said suits them for applications that range from passenger cars to light commercial vehicle use.

The Charleston site also produces high-pressure fuel injectors and pumps for internal combustion engines, as well as safety-related products such as electronic stability control, an anti-skid technology.

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