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Locally made innovations for sustainable urbanization

By Er Ran (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-19 08:00

Bosch start/stop systems halts the engine when a vehicle is held up at a traffic light or in a traffic jam.

German company Bosch will present clean and safe products at the Expo

Bosch will showcase some of its products in the German-Chinese House at the Expo, as a partner of the "Germany and China - Moving Ahead Together" program.

"We are pleased to continue our three year engagement as a city partner of the program," said Peter Pang, President of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd, "through our presence in various cities, we demonstrate long term commitment to China and the Expo provides an opportunity for us to present our innovative products- "Invented for Life" to a large audience."

"Germany and China - Moving Ahead Together" is under the joint patronage of the Federal President of Germany Horst Koehler and the Chinese President Hu Jintao. In 2006, the program was launched by the Federal Chancellor of Germany Dr. Angela Merkel and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

According to a blue book published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2009, the urbanization rate in China is forecast to increase from 46 percent to 53 percent by 2015.

The fast urbanization process is generating huge challenges in regards to natural resources and environmental impact. "Bosch always regards it as a top priority to provide innovative technological answers to the major challenges in energy supply and to help achieve safe and sustainable development," said Peter Pang.

In the German-Chinese House, visitors will be able to see how Bosch innovations support sustainable urbanization. The solutions cover clean mobility, renewable energy, architecture intelligence and safety. They were all locally produced and have been applied in China during the past two years.

In the area of green mobility Bosch has produced common-rail diesel systems (CRS) and start/stop systems that can help reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in urban traffic, with more than 30 percent lower fuel consumption and about 25 percent less CO2 emissions compared to similar gasoline engines. By the end of 2009, Bosch CRS were in use in over 900,000 trucks, buses and passenger cars manufactured in China. The start/stop systems from Bosch can automatically stop the engine when the vehicle is stationary, for example at traffic lights or in traffic jams.

With regards to renewable energy, Bosch has been exploring the potential of renewable energies and supporting the development of solar energy and wind energy in China. A total of 200 Bosch Buderus solar thermal collectors are installed on the roof of the Tibet branch of China Telecom's Emergency Command Center, providing heating and hot water for a building with nearly 5,000 sq m. Bosch Rexroth provided local customers with entire sets of hydraulic power units for 1.25 mW and 2.0 mW wind turbines, as well as long-term maintenance for wind farms in Laizhou, Shandong, and Baiyun, Inner Mongolia.

In architecture intelligence and safety, Bosch has developed cutting-edge security and communications solutions, which have been applied in the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Ji'nan Olympic Sports Center.

In addition, Bosch Home Appliances have succeeded in cutting the average energy consumption of its appliances by more than 40 percent since 1990. Reductions in energy consumption of between 60 and 80 percent have been achieved for refrigerators alone.

(China Daily 05/19/2010 page19)