Two-thirds of this will go toward developing and expanding promising new technologies, with a focus on sustainability, mobility, and Industry 4.0. “For Bosch, digitalization presents major opportunities in all areas of business,” said Dr. Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management, at this year’s Bosch Connected World (BCW) AIoT industry conference in Berlin. “In addition to promising new technologies, we will be investing in vocational training and professional development for our associates – since they are the key to technology that is ‘Invented for life’ both today and tomorrow,” Hartung said. For the technology of the more distant future, Hartung also announced that Bosch is partnering with IBM, a U.S.-based technology company, in the field of quantum computing. Bosch’s goal is to use quantum computing simulation of materials to find surrogates for the precious metals and rare earths in carbon-neutral powertrains – in the electric motor and the fuel cell – in the next ten years. “We share our experience in simulating materials for very specific application areas with IBM and in return we gain deeper insights into the power and applicability of quantum computing including hardware. Together, we are taking quantum simulation to the next level and are gaining a competitive edge internationally,” Hartung said. In addition to new materials for fuel cells, Bosch is also interested in new magnets for electric motors that are lighter, more compact, more efficient, and more readily available. Such new materials promise to be more environmentally friendly than rare earths.