Thomas Quante About Reliable Ways to Boost Energy Efficiency

In the interview, he reveals what the global building sector can do to boost energy efficiency, sustainability, security and safety, which sector-wide alliances are currently being formed, and what it takes to be an attractive employer.

GIT SECURITY: Mr. Quante, at the Bosch Connected World (BCW), the focus is all about combining artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things – in other words, AIoT – and about digital transformation. Taking quite a broad approach, we can say that BCW is taking place against the backdrop of climate change, the energy crisis and efforts to boost ­sustainability. How is Bosch Building Technologies positioning itself in this regard

Thomas Quante: As a solutions provider for commercial buildings and industrial applications, we regard energy efficiency, sustainability and comfort as key priorities. People should feel safe and comfortable in buildings and critical infrastructure. Buildings can play a big part in reducing greenhouse gases – both our ­customers’ emissions and our own. This is also important in light of the increased ESG reporting requirements companies are facing...

…In other words, their obligations to report on environmental, social and governance issues.

Thomas Quante: That’s right. In terms of e-mobility, we are already making very good progress as a society, getting around in a more environmentally friendly way. Now, attention is increasingly turning to operating buildings and systems in an eco-friendly way. Here, too, the energy balance is really important as a way of reducing the carbon footprint. After all, the building sector is responsible for 40 percent of CO2 emissions worldwide.

What does that mean in concrete terms?

Thomas Quante: To give you one example, it´s important that people feel comfortable in their workplace. At the same time, hybrid working is pretty common everywhere. We therefore need to design buildings and workspaces in such a way that they are energy efficient and sustainable, even when employees are only coming into the office two or three days a week. Ideally, their workspaces should only be heated when necessary, for instance, rather than all the time.
Incidentally, all these considerations have also led to our decision to relocate our Bosch Building Technologies headquarters to a new site. The decision was based on a whole new concept that will make hybrid working easier and also make us an even more attractive employer for new associates. In our future location – which will be carbon neutral – the surface area we use will be just 60 percent of the area we have used up until now. Instead of fixed offices, we will also be offering co-working spaces in the future for our associates who only come into the office occasionally.

In general terms, what is the major aim – the mission behind the Bosch Building Technologies commitment to greater sustainability?

Thomas Quante: We want to reduce energy requirements – and, therefore, the associated emissions – to a minimum, thereby cutting costs and protecting the environment, both for our customers and for ourselves. This is all fully in line with our mission, namely “Building solutions for a better life” – the approach that we are taking to meet the growing demand for security and safety, comfort and energy efficiency.

Can you give us some specific examples?

Thomas Quante: The Bosch Building Technologies “Energy Platform” – our comprehensive, cloud-based application with real-time analysis of energy data – is making an important contribution to achieving climate neutrality. It is already in use at more than 120 Bosch plants and sites worldwide and is optimizing energy use throughout the Bosch Group. Our takeovers of experienced building automation companies – Climatec in the United States and GFR as well as Hörburger in Germany – are also important in terms of our corporate strategy. These companies have been part of the Bosch family since 2015, 2019 and 2021, respectively. With this strong team and these companies’ core skills and solutions, we are ideally placed to further optimize the operation of buildings.
We also set up a consultancy company, Bosch Climate Solutions GmbH, to share our expertise with other companies and help them on their way to carbon neutrality. Bosch Climate Solutions is now part of Bosch Building Technologies. There are already around 30 reference customers, including some big names such as Trumpf, Würth, Kistler and Chiron.
All in all, Bosch Building Technologies offers a comprehensive range of services from consultancy to project implementation via our system integrator business and support throughout the entire life cycle.

At the Light + Building 2022, visitors gained their first insights into the “Nexospace” digital service suite. What is at the core of this suite, and which specific services does it offer?

Thomas Quante: With the cloud-based Nexospace platform, we are operating a data highway – and we’re now also ­making this highway available to third parties. It’s all about the targeted analysis of sensor data for the convenient, integrated digital management of commercial buildings. All IoT-supported service solutions for building management are being bundled together for the first time under the Nexospace name. The aggregated data analysis from all building technology systems reveals potential for improvements, and also ensures smoother operating procedures.
We have already started by launching three services. The ­“Nexospace Fire System Analyzer” makes it possible to gain a rapid overview of the status of fire detection systems from anywhere. A cockpit shows the current system status, the digital logbook and the plan for future replacement activities, which makes investment planning easier. There is also the “Nexospace Performance Optimizer” for efficient building automation. It is currently still in the pilot phase, but it constantly analyzes performance and consumption data produced by the building technology. The ­“Nexospace Cyber Security Guard” protects Windows-based security systems against viruses and other malware. In other words, it is a service that prevents potential cyberattacks.

So does this mean that the iPad will be replacing the screwdriver in the future?

Thomas Quante: (Laughs) You might say that! We are certainly in the midst of the digital transformation and it’s also vital to make sure the whole team is on board with it. That’s why the combination is so important – we need experienced service engineers who can perform complex maintenance, for example, along with digital experts.

You are obviously going to a lot of effort to improve sustainability for your customers. What about Bosch’s own environmental footprint at the moment?

Thomas Quante: Needless to say, with all our initiatives, it is important we get our own house in order first. At Bosch, we are working hard on various measures to boost our own climate neutrality by applying four levers. First of all, we are substantially increasing our energy efficiency – and have approved a budget of 100 million euros a year up to 2030 for this purpose. Our second lever is “new clean power” – at Bosch, we want to increase the amount of renewable energy generated by our own production and produce 400 Gigawatt hours each year ourselves by 2030. Thirdly, we want to purchase green electricity. Finally, our fourth lever involves measures to offset unavoidable emissions.

Returning to the subject of your services and solutions for the building sector, are you also working in collaboration with other partners to overcome these complex challenges?

Thomas Quante: It’s certainly not something that can be done unilaterally. We firmly believe that close collaboration with strategic partners is vital. We are currently working with 45 partners to develop an open, domain-spanning, cloud-based ecosystem. This involves combining and integrating all building systems, services and software solutions from a wide range of applications. By performing AI-based analysis of all data points, we generate robust, auditable data for the ESG reporting we have already spoken about, and also use this data to identify optimization potential for our customers.

What is the latest about the hardware product strategy at Bosch Building Technologies?

Thomas Quante: We have a very diverse product range in this area, too, and so we are in a good starting position. We offer fire protection and building automation systems, voice alarm systems, professional audio communication systems, and video, intrusion and access control systems.
In terms of the key area of AI, we also benefit hugely from cross-divisional collaboration – “leverage the power of Bosch” is how we put it. We have already produced some outstanding AI innovations and are continuing to focus on this. One example is the area of fire protection and our Aviotec product...

…That is your video-based early fire detection system.

Thomas Quante: Yes, that’s right. With Aviotec, we are already far exceeding the relevant regulations. I can give you another example from our video system product range. When you think about security operators, you realize just how challenging their work is – they need to monitor everything by keeping an eye on all the things that matter. Too many false alarms can easily cause them to become less vigilant. However, our AI-supported systems help them identify the things that are really relevant, which is an efficient way of ensuring buildings or perimeters remain secure.

It is worth mentioning at this point that Bosch Building ­Technologies recently came out very well in the recent “GIT System Test Video Analytics”, despite competing against some other big names on the market. The intelligent video analytics, along with the cameras, work brilliantly...

Thomas Quante: ...Yes, and of course that doesn’t surprise me at all. It’s exactly why our customers put their trust in us for so many different projects – including and especially when it comes to critical infrastructure.

Ambitious projects and plans call for committed staff – what does Bosch do in terms of its corporate culture and to promote a sense of cohesion among all its associates?

Thomas Quante: For us, this aspect is quite simply crucial for safeguarding our future. We always want to be the company of choice in the industry – for both young talents as well as experienced professionals – regardless of whether we are competing against other large companies or mid-sized ones. We really do have a huge amount to offer – especially the purpose of our company, which is “Building solutions for a better life”. We maintain partnerships with universities in both Germany and other countries, and we organize hackathons. At these events, many digitally talented individuals work together to develop new solutions for a better future, creating valuable points of contact between them and our company at the same time. We are delighted that these events are attracting more and more women.

What else do you offer to attract the most talented individuals?

Thomas Quante: A huge amount! For example, we offer a lot of flexibility in terms of working hours and workplace. Our associates even have the option of working away from home in another country for a certain number of days. Here, once again, what matters most is human well-being – the well-being of our associates in this case. And, after all, that leads to the best results.
At the same time, we want to make our on-site working conditions as attractive as possible so that our associates also enjoy getting together in person. After all, when people are in direct contact with one another they often come up with the best ideas. You can observe that here, too, at the Bosch Connected World. The talks that take place here, the ideas that are produced and the connections that are made are irreplaceable.

If we may finish by asking a more personal question, what do you do to recharge your batteries in the little spare time you no doubt have?

Thomas Quante: (Laughs) I’ve been with Bosch for 28 years now and still enjoy it. Away from work, I like spending time with my wife and two daughters. I also enjoy getting out into the fresh air with my dog. That’s all I need.
Thank you for talking to us.