This is where the 2025 award winners step in: they created the first mass-produced fuel cell system for heavy long-haul trucks. Instead of storing electricity in a heavy battery, the truck generates its own power on the road. Inside the fuel cell, hydrogen reacts with oxygen from the air to produce electricity—releasing only pure water. When powered by green hydrogen from solar or wind energy, the truck drives completely emission-free.

For Robert Bosch GmbH's fuel cell technology, more than 2,200 individual components were newly developed, precisely fine-tuned, and industrialized. The drive module is lighter than a comparable battery-electric one, hydrogen refueling takes very little time, and it allows a range of up to 1,000 km. This is what makes the innovation economically competitive in heavy-duty transport.

The company relies on hydrogen as an essential pillar of sustainability. Rather than just building fuel cell drives, it covers the entire value chain: producing electrolysis stacks for hydrogen generation, supplying control technology for hydrogen refueling stations, and manufacturing injection systems for hydrogen engines. The company has also built key expertise in producing and operating these systems sustainably.

Positioned prominently at the center of the exhibition, the 2025 award winners' module is easily visible from all directions. Robust design elements reflect its heavy-duty application and offer space to showcase the individual innovation components: At the center sits the stack—made of 455 individual fuel cells layered together, along with connections for air, coolant, and hydrogen supply. This core component, combined with the other technical elements, forms the complete drive system.
Directly opposite the stack sits a playful and artistic approach to the topic of innovation.
At the heart of this installation is an analogy of the fuel cell: the "powerhouse." It illustrates that the fuel cell operates particularly efficient when it can work under optimal operating conditions—thanks to the performance of the system components.

Beneath the "powerhouse" and in direct view of the fuel cell stack, its functional components are on display. Five delicate stacked layers make up a single fuel cell: two metallic bipolar plates act as anode and cathode, two gas diffusion layers evenly distribute the hydrogen and the oxygen (from the air), and between them sits the ultra-thin proton exchange membrane where hydrogen and oxygen react.

In the two showcases, arranged to the right and left of the stack, further technical components of the fuel cell system are presented. One of these is the electric air compressor, which compresses air and supplies oxygen from the air to the stack.

Also featured are the hydrogen injector, which delivers hydrogen to the stack with high precision for accurate pressure control, and the recirculation blower, which routes unused hydrogen back into the fuel cell for efficient reuse.

On the opposite side, screens to the right and left of the “powerhouse” offer deeper insights into the innovation and exhibits. One of them details the physical and technical principles behind this new CO2-free drive system for heavy-duty transport.

In the media terminal, an element assigned to every module of the exhibition, there are statements by the award winners regarding their work, the development, and the achievement of their shared goal. An overview of the economic impact of the innovation can also be found there. The ZDF presentation on the innovation included here was part of the award ceremony in autumn 2025.

In addition, the laureates are honored with large-scale black-and-white portraits, marking their entry into the Hall of Fame of all winners of the Deutscher Zukunftspreis located at the head of the exhibition.