IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

At its plant in Bischofshofen, Austria, Liebherr unveiled what it says is the world’s first large wheeled loader with a hydrogen engine.

As well as the L 566 H hydrogen wheeled loader being demonstrated for the first time in practical use, the first hydrogen filling station in the state of Salzburg was inaugurated, representing an important milestone in the use of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source.

“To make progress in hydrogen research, we need to have access to hydrogen. We built this filling station to further advance our goals for decarbonising construction machinery,” says Dr.-Ing. Herbert Pfab, chief technical officer, Liebherr Bischofshofen. The L 566 H is said to be the world’s first prototype large wheeled loader with a hydrogen engine. Liebherr says that, following studies, this technology was identified as the optimal solution for operating large vehicles that are difficult to electrify without CO2 emissions. For smaller vehicles up to about 15 tonnes, battery-electric solutions are often suitable. However, the situation is different with larger machines with an operating weight of up to 40 tonnes and high energy requirements. The wheeled loader uses hydrogen reciprocating piston engines.

These hydrogen engines are manufactured at the engine plant of Liebherr’s Components product segment in Bulle, Switzerland. They enable zero emissions of greenhouse gases and almost no nitrogen oxides.

Another advantage is that the interfaces are comparable to those of a diesel engine, both thermally and mechanically. Liebherr says that “this represents a significant step forward in the development of sustainable large-scale machinery.”