Artificial intelligence is helping Bosch engineers accelerate the design of electric drive systems for new energy vehicles, with the technology now being applied to fuel cell development at the company's research center in Shanghai's Hongqiao International Central Business District.
Liu Xudan, R&D director at the Bosch Central Research Institute in Shanghai, leads a team developing AI-based tools to optimize complex power electronics systems. Working with experts from Tsinghua University and Bosch's AI center, the team developed a Transformer-based algorithm called GNOT that enables more than 1,000 times faster inference in predicting system performance.
Electric drive systems involve complex interactions among electrical, thermal, mechanical and cost factors. Traditionally, optimizing their design required repeated simulations and tests. By learning the underlying physical rules, AI models can evaluate designs more quickly, shortening development cycles. The technology has been used to develop high-power DC/DC converters for fuel cells.
Liu, who holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Germany's Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, joined Bosch in 2017. He returned to China after studying in Germany, drawn by the country's growing role in new energy vehicle innovation.
Based in the Hongqiao International Central Business District, Bosch benefits from global research resources and proximity to the Yangtze River Delta's extensive automotive supply chain and talent pool, Liu said. Hongqiao's international environment, convenient transport and services for overseas professionals also support recruitment and collaboration.
Selected for the youth project of Shanghai's Oriental Talent Program in 2025, Liu said exchanges with professionals from different fields had broadened his perspective beyond technical research.
Looking ahead, he aims to lead further research into technologies the automotive industry will need over the next five to 10 years, while helping bring innovations developed in China to global markets.
"Innovation does not only happen in the laboratory," Liu said. "When people from different fields and backgrounds sit together and talk, new ideas and connections often emerge."
