EU Commission gives green light for Bosch & Mitsubishi battery swapping joint venture
The European Commission has cleared the creation of a joint venture between Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, focusing on services related to EV batteries. The decision, made under the EU Merger Regulation, concludes that the transaction raises no competition concerns due to the joint venture’s minimal activities in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the companies’ limited market positions in the relevant markets.
In March 2022, Bosch and Mitsubishi announced they were teaming up with Blue Park Smart Energy (BPSE) to offer battery swapping services in China. According to a Memorandum of Understanding signed at the time, BPSE will contribute its battery exchange platform. The company is part of the BAIC Group and in 2021, SK Innovation secured a 13.3% stake in BPSE.
Bosch will monitor and analyse the batteries via its Battery-in-the-Cloud service, using data-based optimisation to improve performance and extend the lifespan of EV batteries and the TCO of EV fleets.
Three years ago, the companies said that they would “conduct a Proof of Concept in China,” adding that the goal was to “provide the solution worldwide.” No timeframe was given at the time.
Neither partner had issued a statement following approval by the EU Commission at the time of writing. It remains thus unclear when the project could kick off, how much the initial investment in this ‘Battery as a Service’ business will be, and which markets could follow China.
As stated above, the EU Commission noted that “the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given that the joint venture has negligible activities in the European Economic Area.” It also emphasised the importance of the EV sector in this decision, saying that the joint venture “aims to support the electric vehicle sector, a pivotal sector for decarbonisation efforts in Europe and beyond.”
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