Underneath the Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal industrial area in Braga, there are 140 wells reaching as deep as 133 meters, where the Earth's temperature remains stable year-round, between 16°C and 18°C. Utilizing this invisible foundation connected to a heat pump, the German multinational has established one of Portugal's largest geothermal parks.

The €2 million investment is eligible under the PRR — Recovery and Resilience Plan, significantly contributing to the carbon neutrality of Bosch's industrial complex in Braga. There is free energy available deep within the Earth, and it would be remiss not to capitalize on it. With this not-so-new technology, Bosch has become capable, within two years of using the natural temperatures from the Earth's depths to heat its facilities in winter and cool them in summer.

In practice, through geothermal wells and a heat pump, the system can provide thermal energy for cooling or heating more efficiently and economically than any conventional system. In terms of carbon emissions, this change translates to a reduction of 600 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.

Operating in Portugal since 1911, the German Bosch Group closed 2023 with sales of €2.1 billion (+1.7% from the previous year) and more than seven thousand employees (+8%), spread across Braga, Ovar, Aveiro, and Lisbon, solidifying its position among the largest exporters and employers in the country.

In Braga, the group's largest unit in Portugal, it achieved €1.3 billion in turnover last year (60% of the total), employing 3,700 workers, including 500 engineers dedicated to research and development (R&D).

It is certain that Bosch, a role model company in Portugal with annual investments of around €70 million, will also receive innovative technologies related to mobility. Therefore, due to the quality of its national workforce, it will play a significant role in the future of mobility both domestically and internationally. This is crucial for our country, safeguarding its position in mobility innovation and technology.

Founded in 1886 in the German city of Stuttgart, the Bosch Group operates 470 companies in 60 countries, employing 428,000 people and generating €91.6 billion in revenue in 2023. In the field of R&D, it has 90,000 employees, more than half of whom are software engineers.

Author

Paulo Lopes is a multi-talent Portuguese citizen who made his Master of Economics in Switzerland and studied law at Lusófona in Lisbon - CEO of Casaiberia in Lisbon and Algarve.

Paulo Lopes