World’s first hydrogen-powered wheel loader deployed in Austria

Oct 21, 2024

The single heavy loader could reduce carbon emissions of 100 metric tons a year.

Ameya Paleja

The world's first hydrogen powered heavy loader

Liebherr

In a world-first, German-Swiss equipment manufacturer Liebherr has rolled out L566 H, a prototype large wheel loader powered by hydrogen. Teaming up with construction company Strabag, the loader is being deployed as part of a two-year pilot project at Gratkorn quarry in Austria.

With countries aiming to reduce their carbon emissions to net zero as early as 2040, there is a push for innovations in the transportation and construction industry, which have conventionally been the highest emitters of planet-warming emissions.

While the urban transportation industry has achieved some success in electrifying small—to medium-sized vehicles, large-scale vehicles such as loaders cannot be operated with stored energy from batteries.

The high power demand of these equipment makes them unsuitable for battery operation, which is where hydrogen can help.

Due to its high energy density, hydrogen is being explored as an alternative to fossil fuels. When used in a fuel cell, hydrogen is mixed with oxygen to generate electricity. However, Liebherr’s plans for the L566 H are much different.

The company uses hydrogen in a specially modified combustion engine that can burn hydrogen instead of diesel to power the heavy loader. Made at Liebherr’s components division at its engine plant in Bulle, Switzerland, the modified combustion engines produce no CO2 or nitrous oxide gases while offering high energy efficiency.

“The technology also enables large vehicles that are difficult to electrify due to their high energy demand to be operated without CO2,” said Dr.-Ing. Herbert Pfab, Technical Director of Liebherr in the press release.

According to its estimates, if it were powered by diesel, the L566 H would prevent the emission of 100 metric tons of CO2 every year.

Although pilot projects are meant to test new technology and determine if they can be scaled up, powering a heavy loader with hydrogen could be considered a pipe dream. According to Liebherr’s estimates, the L566 H will prevent the use of over 9,900 gallons (37,500 liters) of diesel, but the equipment will need to be supplied with green hydrogen to prevent emissions.

At the pilot project site, the heavy loader will be refueled with green hydrogen supplied by Energie Steiermark, but the availability of green hydrogen is still a problem.

While hydrogen can be produced using solar and wind energy, the cost of production is high, and commercially available hydrogen is made using fossil fuels instead. This is why it is referred to as brown hydrogen. Estimates suggest that hydrogen demand will reach 130 million tons by 2030, and much of this will be met by brown hydrogen.

Building the L566 H might seem like a moot move, but a step-by-step approach may be the way out. “We want to be climate neutral by 2040,” said Klemens Haselsteiner, CEO of Straboag in the press release. “The only way to achieve this is by consistently and comprehensively saving CO2, for example, in the operation of construction machinery.”

As hydrogen production moves from brown to blue and eventually green, the machinery that could benefit from cleaner fuel will mature, too.

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Ameya Paleja Ameya is a science writer based in Hyderabad, India. A Molecular Biologist at heart, he traded the micropipette to write about science during the pandemic and does not want to go back. He likes to write about genetics, microbes, technology, and public policy.

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