A white and blue Liebherr wheel loader has been put to work in Bremerhaven. This wheel loader is special; it’s a hydrogen-powered L 566 H prototype being tested under real-world operating conditions. The trial will include moving large quantities of material and carrying out everyday tasks that were previously performed by conventionally powered wheel loaders.
As part of a multi-year pilot project, Liebherr is supporting Georg Grube GmbH with the wheel loader in the handling of various bulk goods.
Testing alternative fuels requires trials in real-world conditions
Every day, large quantities of bulk cargo are handled, stored, processed, and transported at the Bremerhaven fishing port. The workflows are tightly scheduled, and to avoid downtime, the machines in use must deliver reliable performance at all times. Under these conditions, the L 566 H prototype will put hydrogen power to the test as a reliable energy source.
In its day-to-day operations at Georg Grube GmbH, the hydrogen-powered wheel loader will feed conveyor systems, transport sand, gravel, and rock between storage areas, and load processed material onto trucks for onward transport. For Georg Grube GmbH, the L 566 H’s suitability is the key focus. “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 on the premises of the Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Lab in Bremerhaven to refuel the wheel loader. There, the wheel loader can be refuelled quickly after a shift.
“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.
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