Bosch just launched an entire line of new 18V “EXPERT” series Li-ion cordless power tool batteries, and that’s not all – they also launched new fast chargers.
The first thing you’ll notice is that these are all “EXPERT 18V” batteries. Shown here is the 15Ah battery, model EXBA18V-150.
Bosch says that these feature the “latest 5Ah cell for maximum power of up to 2400 W.”
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Bosch says that their new 8Ah battery, EXBA18V-80, can deliver the same power level, thanks to tabless Li-ion cell design.
They didn’t describe the 15Ah battery in the same manner, suggesting that not all Expert series batteries feature tabless cells.
This is the Bosch 18V 5.5Ah battery, model EXBA18V-55. It’s described as having high power cells that deliver up to 2000 W of maximum power.
The 4Ah battery, model EXBA18V-40, is said to have high power tabless cells, and can also deliver up to 2000 W.
Bosch says that the new Expert 18V 4Ah battery delivers up to 2X the maximum power compared to their GBA 18V 4.0Ah battery. It’s not clear if the comparison is to their older 4Ah battery or newer Core18V compact 4Ah battery.
The batteries are joined by a Bosch Expert 18V dual port battery charger, EXAL18V2-320.
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This charger can fully recharge two of the 8Ah battery in 39 minutes. It’s simultaneous charger with up to 16A of charging speed per bay.
The new charger is actively cooled and can fit within a new customized L-Boxx that also has slots for Bosch 18V batteries.
This new charger, with the model number, GAL 12V/18V-80, suggesting it can also recharge Bosch 12V batteries, can recharge at 8A.
They also have a new single bay high speed charger, EXAL18V-160, that matches the speed of the dual port charger.
It can also recharge at up to 16A, and fully charge an Expert 8Ah battery in 39 minutes.
There are 3 charging modes – standard, power boost, and long life.
It’s difficult to read, but it looks like Bosch’s new chargers can hasten the charging times for some of their older 18V batteries and not just the new Expert series packs.
At this time it’s not clear whether the new Bosch Expert 18V batteries are replacing their Core18V batteries, or why it seems some of them have tabless Li-ion cells but not the others.
Although the geometries and look very different, Bosch says that their new Expert batteries are compatible with Bosch 18V cordless power tools as well as cross-brand AmpShare tools and accessories.
Saying that the new batteries look different is definitely an understatement – I’d say that Bosch dramatically updated the look of their new 18V batteries, from the overall shape to the unlatch button.
The new batteries are said to feature a 5-LED charge status indicator, which sounds convenient.
From what I can tell, there are two power or performance tiers here – one with the compact tabless cell 4Ah battery and 5.5Ah battery, and another with the tabless cell 8Ah battery and 15Ah battery.
As the 5-cell 4Ah battery is said to deliver the same max power as the 10-cell 5.5Ah battery, and the 10-cell 8Ah battery is said to deliver the same max power as the 15-cell 15Ah battery, it does seem like Bosch went with different “high power” and “high power tabless” Li-ion cell technologies here.
USA details have not yet been announced; the Expert line will be “coming soon” to Europe.
Tony
The 15 Ah version looks so big that it should have wheels mounted on the bottom so that you can pull it with a rope.
eddiesky
Soon, they’ll have 30Ah or more that you just plugin your tool’s power cord! LOL
Blocky
They took the concept of ‘cordless platform’ literally.
Bonnie
I mean, I’ve legit seem people use portable power stations/battery-“generators” that way. I’ve even half considered it for my nice corded electric chainsaw.
Luis
I’m wondering if it will be bigger than Dewalt’s 15Ah Flexvolt
Stuart
“Latest 5.0Ah cell” 15Ah/5Ah = 3, so 3 rows x 5 cells (5S3P) for 15 cells.
The Dewalt FlexVolt 15Ah battery is much larger than their 15-cell 9Ah and 12Ah batteries, and so such it has a greater number of battery cells.
https://toolguyd.com/dewalt-flexvolt-15ah-size-comparison/
The 15Ah battery should be around the same size as FlexVolt 12Ah, or Milwaukee M18 FORGE 12Ah, or Bosch’s 18V ProFactor 12Ah battery.
Luis
got it. Sounds like a manageable size considering the extra capacity
Nathan
Is the battery actively cooled or the charger? Or is the cooling in the battery only active while charging?
Stuart
I can see fans in some of the new chargers. I’ve never seen batteries with built-in fans.
Nathan
The way you wrote it made it seem the battery was cooled. ” The new battery is actively cooled and can fit in the l box…”
So the box is actively cooled and has slots for the new battery?
Stuart
Sorry, the new *charger* is actively cooled.
They don’t say much about the new L-Boxx battery and charger carrier. It looks like there’s a slot for the charging cord, but I don’t see any vents or room for much airflow. I would NOT charge batteries in that with the lid closed.
Jim Premo
Batteries have ducts that the charger fan blows through.
Matt_T
The current 16A “active cooling” charger has fans in it. Guessing these new ones will be the same. The EXAL18V-160 looks like a refresh of the current 16A.
Peter
Guess no usb ports?
I feel old seeing no use for a 15A battery.🤓
Jared
Could signal new forthcoming OPE.
Stuart
I was thinking the same. We’ve seen some expansion in the EU, and cordless OPE is already a forward-looking direction for most power tool brands.
Peter
Makes sense had to look up OPE though.😝
Stuart
Sorry! Outdoor Power Equipment.
Peter
All good, searching for OPE had me my head scratching but your “cordless OPE “ did the trick.👍
Scott ALKB
It’s a midwest term. “Ope, just gonna sneak by ya with my cordless lawnmower, doncha know.”
/joke
Jared
Maybe Bosch is treating the “Expert” designation as an indication of tool-compatibility instead of which of them have tabless tech?
Luis
They will be compatible with their existing lineup. I think the expert branding has more to do with the increased output and runtime for more demanding tools. It might even bring power increases across the board. I might be getting ahead of myself but adding performance to older tools has been a thing with other brands.
Mark M.
I want so bad to like Bosch as a brand, but I don’t. I’ve got a Bulldog hammer drill that I’d replace in a heartbeat if it gave out, and that’s it. So many of their designs are square and clunky, and the current marketing…I still can’t tell if they are just tone deaf to the US market, if they are low-key making fun of us, or what. At any rate, I have zero interest. Zero.
fred
In the corded era – Bosch was our go-to brand for rotohammers and some concrete saws and grinders. I believe that some of those tools are still soldiering on. Our carpenters liked their corded RO sanders – but now (I’m told) they are using Festool sanders and dust extractors. Our installers fell in love with the Bosch 12V multi-head drill drivers – abd are still using them – never moving to Milwaukee or other brands.
For my home shop I still use Bosch routers (although I have more from Porter Cable) including their diminutive 12V model. I am also a fan of the jig saws – but have not bought into their battery models.
So, for me it’s pick and choose – I like some Bosch items for their capabilities – but am not stuck on the brand.
They have recently introduced some new tools to the US market – that seem to have been first of a kind at the time of introduction. I’m thinking of the GTH18V-50MN and GNB18V-12N. Their new ad campaign is indeed strange – but at least it may signal that they are not ignoring the NA market.
Peter
I would not give up yet.
The 12V line is top notch imho.
I moved a bit away from their 18V because when I needed to replace my 6&1/2” circular saw they did not offer any brushless version so I went with DeWalt.
The newest Bosch 18V I got is a grinder and that thing is solid and works great.
Even my older brushed 18V sds drill performs as it should.
Bosch might not be as in the news as Milwaukee for example but as far as I can see their offering are normally rock solid.
Joe
I really like the new design and love that they are pushing for tabless. I assume this is why they didn’t launch the ProCore+ in the USA as they wanted feedback from users. We just need a broader product offering the USA
Hon Cho
Bosch (along with Makita) seems to duke things out more in Europe and other places around the world than in the USA. To that end, Bosch has a lot of European partners in the Ampshare alliance so more opportunities to sell large capacity batteries. For example, one of the Ampshare partners is Steinel, a manufacturer of heat guns. A large capacity battery might be just what Steinel needs for its product line. Many of their partners produce specialist tools instead of a large line of general purpose cordless tools; therefore, having a brand like Bosch provide your battery tech reduces costs and likely gives customers better access to replacement batteries over the usable life of the tool.
Jimmie
A 15Ah EXPERT battery has about as many Watt-hours as the 5Ah Ego battery. That’s a big battery to be lugging around in a handheld power tool.
I do wonder if it makes sense to make ever-larger 18V batteries instead of doubling (or tripling) the voltage like Flexvolt or Metabo’s stuff. Doubling the voltage means the circuitry needs to handle half as much current so heat is more manageable.
Stuart
For a lot of tools, such as a larger cordless vacuum or table saw, battery size and weight are lower priorities than power and runtime.
I think that the new 15-cell 15Ah battery – presumably comparable to 18V 12Ah batteries – is about as large (physically) as 18V battery packs are going to get.
Macfox
Regardless of cell configuration, all non-pouch batteries use 3.6V per cell lithium battery packs. You can put more cells in series and have a higher voltage with lower amperage, or more in parallel and have a lower voltage with higher amperage. This doesn’t make the pack any smaller.
12 Ah @ 18V = 6 Ah @ 36V. If each cell outputs the same voltage and amperage, the power will also remain roughly the same. The only difference is slightly higher efficiency and lower energy losses (meaning less heat) with higher voltages. That difference is measurable, but not like doubling power or anything, like DeWalt wants to make you believe with their 54V tools.
scott
Changing the voltage will not make it smaller, just smaller connectors and internal wires. 18650 is still 18650. Power density does not rise based on voltage output. Need denser batteries, here is looking at you, new battery type.
Jason
I feel old, I still remember when 4 AH was a big deal because everything was 3 AH. Like 10 years ago I really thought Bosch had a window to make a big push when they were using some of the same messaging around batteries and brushless tech (their version of “fuel” vs. just better motors or batteries.
Sadly I think they missed their window, but it’s good to see some cool innovations. Speaking of red, makes me wonder how Dewalt and now Bosch have 15 AH but nothing yet from Milwaukee. I don’t think anyone else in the big brands goes beyond 12AH
SV
15 cells in the 15ah battery. It should be the same size as the 12ah batteries seen on other platforms. Does this mean we finally have 5ah tableess cells. Aslo, we now have a battery charger in the 18v range with more then the previous 12amp maximum charging speed. I never would have guest. Bosch to be leading in battery innovation.
Matt_T
Bosch have had a 16A charger for a while.
Jim Premo
4ah to 5ah is the sweet spot for 18v batteries.
Oarman
Man that is Autozone-tier graphic arts branding. Certainly does not make me feel like a Bosch.
Saulac
I guess it’s understood that these batteries are compatible with Bosch current batteries and tools? And probably is the standard/universal that Bosch is leading?
Stuart
As mentioned in the post, Bosch explicitly says they are compatible and AmpShare-compatible.
Lyle
Man that thing (15Ah) almost looks like a replacement car battery. I only use my big batteries (9Ah FlexVolt) in my lights, or mower. Once in a while I’ll put it in something portable like my string trimmer if I’ve run through my 6Ah batteries.
Luis
in theory that 15Ah battery would be the same size of your Flexvolt 9Ah.
Not bad considering you are getting over 50% more runtime (on paper)
Matt_T
“Bosch says that the new Expert 18V 4Ah battery delivers up to 2X the maximum power compared to their GBA 18V 4.0Ah battery. It’s not clear if the comparison is to their older 4Ah battery or newer Core18V compact 4Ah battery.”
That GBA 4Ah battery is probably the Core one. The older 18650 batteries usually have BAT part numbers. Though I haven’t noticed any performance difference between the 2 string 18650 packs and the Core 1 string 21700 packs. And wouldn’t expect to.
Stuart
I tried to look it up, and found listings for both types of batteries. They should perform around the same – 10-cell 18650 vs 5-cell 21700 – and so it wasn’t worth digging deeper.
Macfox
Even Bosch stated ‘equal performance with a smaller size’ for their 4Ah Core batteries, so the new ones will have the same relative difference to both 4Ah packs.
Ciccio
Big batteries more power available for upcoming big tools ?
Are lawn mowers and other gardening tools on Bosch schedule ?
Luis
They’ve introduced some OPE over the last year in Europe, including a 18V x 2 lawn mower. They already have them, they just need to bring these over: https://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/products/gra-18v2-46-06008C8000
Patrick
I’m pretty sure that the new and upcoming new tariff policy have something to do with this delay between EU and US market for all of these new tools.
Stuart
Bosch usually launches tools in the USA later than in Europe – if at all. There’s no basis to blame what’s become a very common and expected practice on tariffs.
Matt_T
It’s nothing new so definitely not tariffs. One thing that causes tools to be released later outside their home market is country specific approvals. Just took a quick look at a couple Bosch tools and they have CSAus markings on them. Getting that takes time and money. That can also be why some tools never show up over here, or over there because this works both ways. Costs more than it’s worth to get the listing…..
Blocky
I’m glad they revised the button. The existing button required exerting pressure against the direction of pull for removing batteries – which made them sometimes fussy to operate. Also, unless I give them a good whack, they have on occasion given a false positive for a being locked- and the tool will even operate- until the battery falls out.
I mean, I always felt that was on me, but then I have never experienced that with Makita batteries.
Blocky
^Apologies for the inconsistent use of tense.
Macfox
Love that new button. Hate the graphics… Makes it look cheap.
Dre
Those graphics are terrible. They look like no-name n knock off batteries.