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Liebherr trials hydrogen-powered wheel loader

Liebherr has commenced field trials of its hydrogen-powered L 566 H wheel loader prototype at Georg Grube GmbH's operations in Bremerhaven, Germany. The machine is being tested under real-world conditions, handling bulk materials at the city's fishing port as part of a multi-year pilot project involving Liebherr, Georg Grube and Green Fuels GmbH.

Working alongside cranes, conveyor systems and silo facilities, the L 566 H is being used to move large volumes of material as part of the site's daily operations. Its duties include feeding conveyor systems, transporting sand, gravel and rock between stockpiles and loading processed material onto trucks for onward transport.

For Liebherr, the trial provides an opportunity to assess hydrogen as an alternative power source in demanding wheel loader applications, while allowing the company to develop different drive technologies ahead of potential series production.

"We want to be well-positioned for the future and are therefore already working on the development of various alternative drive systems. This will enable us to bring the technology best suited to each specific application to series production as soon as the market demands it. The pilot project at the fishing harbour offers ideal conditions for development: the Bremerhaven region has the necessary infrastructure to supply our hydrogen-powered machine, enabling us to test the wheel loader under real-world conditions," reports Günther Holzer, Technical Managing Director of Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH.

The operating environment provides a demanding test for the prototype, with large volumes of bulk materials handled, stored and transported every day. Reliability and availability are essential to maintaining the site's tightly scheduled workflows.

For Georg Grube GmbH, the focus is on establishing whether the hydrogen-powered machine can match the productivity and reliability of its conventionally powered fleet.

"We didn’t want to wait until production-ready products were available, but rather to play an active role in shaping the development from the very start. It was crucial for us that the hydrogen-powered wheel loader performs the same tasks just as reliably as our conventional machines – but with low emissions," explains Wolfgang Grube, owner and managing director of Georg Grube GmbH.

A dedicated hydrogen refuelling station has been commissioned at the Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Lab in Bremerhaven, allowing the wheel loader to be refuelled quickly after a shift.

Bremerhaven's hydrogen infrastructure

The Bremerhaven region has developed into an important centre for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, with hydrogen-powered cars, buses and trucks already in operation. The L 566 H extends this technology into off-highway applications, providing an opportunity to assess its potential alongside battery-electric powertrains in heavy-duty machinery.

The project uses green hydrogen produced locally. Electricity generated by wind turbines powers an electrolyser operated by HY.City.Bremerhaven, which produces the hydrogen. This is then transported using mobile storage systems to the refuelling station, where it is made available to the wheel loader.

"With this project, we are demonstrating how a regional hydrogen value chain can work in practice. From production through to storage and transport, right through to refuelling and use in a heavy-duty machine, all the components fit together seamlessly," explains Andreas Wellbrock, managing director of Green Fuels and initiator of HY.City.Bremerhaven.

Partnership drives development

The trial forms part of the H2B project, Germany's first Hydrogen Valley to receive funding from the EU and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership (CHP). The collaboration brings together industrial partners, end-users and regional organisations to assess the practical application of hydrogen-powered machinery and develop alternative propulsion technologies.

"The project demonstrates how, through the successful collaboration of ambitious partners and the integration of the hydrogen wheel loader into a hydrogen ecosystem, a functioning hydrogen value chain can already be established today. For the future market ramp-up, a network of hydrogen refuelling stations and additional vehicles are now required to ensure sufficient baseline utilisation of the infrastructure and thus enable economically viable operation. It is crucial that Europe actively seizes the opportunities offered by this technology and positions itself successfully in the face of international competition," said the Technical Managing Director of Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen.

Georg Grube GmbH also sees the trial as an opportunity to contribute to the development of alternative power systems through practical operating experience.

"We are proud to be able to contribute to the development of this innovative propulsion technology through our practical deployment and thereby make material handling more low-emission in the long term", said Wolfgang Grube.

The multi-year trial is intended to establish whether hydrogen can provide a viable alternative to conventional power systems in heavy-duty material handling applications, particularly where regional production and refuelling infrastructure can support its operation.

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