A black off-road vehicle jumps over a sandy surface.

EXTREME E:
A RACE OF
ICE & FIRE

Our tools race against time, heat, cold, wind, and dust in the toughest rally in the world – powered by Bosch Professional.

The world's toughest rally

A motorsport championship like no other, Extreme E races electric SUVs in the world's most aggressive environments to raise awareness for climate change. During their debut year, the crew travelled with 50 containers of material by cargo ship from one remote corner of the planet to another. From the Saudi Arabian desert to the fjords of Greenland, the crew must hit the ground running in the world's most extreme ecosystems, without an electric grid in sight. Never before has battery power been pushed to such limits – for cars or for professional power tools.

Building in the toughest ecosystems in the world is not easy. But it's easier with the right tools – from Bosch Professional.

Man with a black hat and beige scarf in a rocky desert landscape.
One of the problems we have with Extreme E is that we work in some of the most aggressive environments in the world.

Kester Wilkinson, Event Manager of Extreme E

Colorful houses at the foot of a snow-covered mountain under a blue sky.

Racing for change

Kangerlussuaq, 2021 – Event manager Kester Wilkinson smiles. In his mind, he's driving through the Arctic X Prix race course his team has just finished building. Around him, a village of tents and the entire racing infrastructure near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, is ready for the next big race. Wilkinson and his team are responsible for creating the playing field for Extreme E, the toughest motorsport rally in the world. The Arctic race is just the third race this season. In total, five races will take place in the world's most extreme locations to raise awareness for climate change. “We work in some of the most aggressive environments in the world,” says Wilkinson. "so we're delighted we have Bosch Professional for that."


It's getting hot in here: In Al'Ula, Saudi Arabia, the unforgiving desert landscape puts Extreme E racers and Bosch Professional tools to the ultimate test.

Extreme terrains

Blistering heat, melting ice caps, rising sea levels – the effects of climate change are palpable at every stage of Extreme E. To take on metal and woodwork fabrication on-site without any mains power, Wilkinson and his team depend on our Professional 18V System. During the Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia, the team was astonished at how well our BITURBO Brushless angle grinders, impact drills, and chop-saws withstood heat, sand, and storm. "Dust gets everwhere and the tools still work," says Dougie Dale, a member of the production team. “Unless you have reliable products, there’s no point bringing them to site. You end up breaking them and having to throw them away. But these–", he picks up a BITURBO GWX 18V-15 SC Professional angle grinder, "–work perfectly out here."


Man in yellow safety vest and sunglasses speaks in front of a construction site.
Having batteries that charge up and last is fantastic, because we have very little power out here. We work in places where there aren’t any mains power.

Dougie Dale, Global Production Team of Extreme E

A Bosch Professional cordless tool with a red and black design.

No power sockets

In Senegal, the Ocean X Prix race took place on a receding sand track next to the ocean. Given the remoteness of the locations, the Extreme E team depend heavily on the long runtimes and durability of our 18V batteries. “Obviously, having batteries that charge up and last a decent amount of time is fantastic, because we have very little power out here,” says Dale. “It’s not like you can plug a circular saw into a mains power and cut away. You need battery power, because we work in places where there aren’t any mains power.” For the toughest jobs, the team relies on our ProCORE18V batteries for maximum performance. Thanks to latest cell technology and excellent temperature management via COOLPACK 2.0 technology, the batteries helped the team work seamlessly without constant battery changes.


A man with protective headphones is using a Bosch screwdriver on the tire.

Huge time-pressure

In Sardinia, Italy, the Island X Prix forces the electric SUVs to plow through tight corners on soft sands. "The terrain is difficult and the cars sustain massive damages during the race," says Pierre Prunin, head of motorsport at Spark Racing Technology, single supplier for all the cars. "The unique environmental conditions don't make our work any easier and our resources are limited." As races often take place in quick succession on the same day, the mechanics have no time to lose. One of their most valuable tools is the GDS 18V-LI HT Professional impact wrench. Thanks to its maximum torque of 650 Nm, the impact wrench helps the team make quick tyre changes and fixes without losing a beat. "It's very important for us to rely on good tools that are always ready and always in working condition," says Prunin. "It makes operations faster."


A man in a blue jacket stands in front of a mountain landscape, thoughtful.
The terrain is difficult and the cars sustain massive damages... All the mechanics have to work very quickly. We need good tools that are always ready and always in working condition.

Pierre Prunin, Head of Motorsport of Spark Racing Technology

A large ship with green markings is sailing over the blue water.

Batteries on board

After each X Prix ends, the crew travels by sea with 50 containers on the cargo liner RMS St Helena to their next location. “The tools travel in aggressive marine environments surrounded by weeks of salt and water," explains Wilkinson. The crew was astonished that the Bosch Professional batteries held their charge for over a month in storage throughout rough sea travel. “We need tools that are reliable and can be deployed really, really quickly,” says Wilkinson. “The Bosch Professional cordless tools are great because we can get them out of the boxes and use them straight away. The batteries are interchangeable so we can just pick up a battery from one tool and put it on another thing. It's super easy.”


Three Bosch Professional tools are lying on a tire in the sand.

Staying on the move

All the Bosch Professional tools, batteries, and chargers fit perfectly into neat stacks of L-BOXX storage units. "The tools come in neat boxes," says Wilkinson. "The boxes stack really well and we can fit the tools in a box and ship them really easily." But some boxes have remained unopened: The team knew early on that they would be on a journey to places most people have never gone before. So they had a Plan B for every aspect of the race. "If our transmission satelitte fails, we have another one. It's the same thing for our tools. If a tool breaks, we need another one," says Wilkinson. "But the Bosch Professional tools are not breaking! We have spares, but we are not getting them out of the box."


Man with a black hat and beige scarf in a rocky desert landscape.
If a tool breaks, we need another tool. But the Bosch Professional tools are not breaking! We have spares but we are not getting them out of the box.

Kester Wilkinson, Event Manager of Extreme E

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