Liebherr broadcasts world’s first giant hydrogen wheel loader

Building and mining tools large Liebherr calls its hydrogen-powered wheel loader the primary of its sort on the earth. Now, the corporate says its loader can be a part of a pilot challenge on the Kanzelstein quarry in Gratkorn, Austria.

First proven earlier this yr at Liebherr’s non-public take a look at facility, the brand new challenge is meant to function a proof of idea pilot between Liebherr and STRABAG, Austria’s largest building firm. STRABAG will use the L 566 H wheel loader prototype in a two-year take a look at challenge.

To refresh your reminiscence, the brand new Liebherr wheel loader isn’t powered by a fuel-cell. As an alternative, it’s powered by a specifically modified combustion engine that burns hydrogen as a substitute of diesel. The businesses estimate the engine would preserve as much as 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from being emitted every year, equivalent to about 37,500 liters of diesel.

“The expertise … permits giant automobiles which can be troublesome to affect on account of their excessive vitality demand to be operated with out emitting carbon dioxide,” explains Dr.-Ing. Herbert Pfab, technical director of Liebherr.

A hydrogen filling station, equipped by Energie Steiermark, will present the inexperienced hydrogen required to refuel the wheel loader instantly on the quarry. 

Electrek’s Take

Earlier this yr, MAN Vehicles CEO Alexander Vlaskamp informed the Spanish-language journal Expansión (translated from Spanish), “It’s one factor to have the expertise and one other factor for the expertise to be viable. Inexperienced hydrogen isn’t obtainable for transportation and there’s no level in switching from diesel to hydrogen if the vitality supply isn’t sustainable.”

And that’s an issue, since there are at the moment no carbon emissions discount advantages from utilizing hydrogen as a gas. That’s as a result of the overwhelming majority of these 90 million tons is being produced by pure gasoline and fossil fuels.

That’s not simply my take, both. That’s what Mahle CEO Arnd Franz is telling folks.

“We are able to’t obtain any CO2 emission reductions if you happen to use pure gasoline or every other fossil sources to provide hydrogen,” Franz is quoted saying. “As we speak, the overwhelming portion of hydrogen manufacturing worldwide is round 90 million tons. That quantity goes to go as much as 130 million tons till 2030. At the moment, we have now a flourishing and rising portion of that being extra sustainable. By extra sustainable, I imply blue and, ultimately, inexperienced hydrogen. In our opinion, [blue hydrogen production is needed] to get the infrastructure going in an effort to get the ecosystem.”

So, the place does that go away Liebherr and its STRABAG challenge? Can we take a look at it as a real effort to advance (what they assume is) promising expertise, or do we expect it’s a cynical cash-grab for presidency hydrogen grants?

As if to reply that query, STRABAG CEO Klemens Haselsteiner mentioned, “We need to be local weather impartial by 2040 … the one option to obtain that is by constantly and comprehensively saving carbon dioxide, for instance, within the operation of building equipment.”

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SOURCE | IMAGES: Liebherr, through Heavy Tools Information.