Liebherr L 566 H Hydrogen-Powered Loader Begins Field Testing at Port

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 6, the prototype of Liebherr Group's L 566 H hydrogen-powered large wheel loader began field testing at the fishing port of Bremerhaven, Germany. The machine has been deployed by local bulk handling company Georg Grube for daily port operations, undertaking tasks including sand and gravel transport, feeding conveying equipment, and truck loading. The testing is being carried out jointly by Liebherr, Georg Grube, and Green Fuels as part of a multi-year demonstration project for hydrogen-powered construction machinery.

The L 566 H loader operates within the port's existing workflows, feeding material to conveyor systems, transferring sand, gravel, and rock between different stockpiles, and loading processed bulk materials onto freight trucks. The testing covers continuous material handling, machine availability, and operational performance in the complex port environment. Georg Grube will focus on assessing whether the hydrogen-powered machine can meet the productivity and reliability requirements of existing conventionally powered loaders.

A dedicated hydrogen refueling station has been built and commissioned at the hydrogen laboratory site of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (Fraunhofer IWES) in Bremerhaven. The loader can visit the station to refuel with hydrogen after completing a work shift. The green hydrogen required for testing is produced by a local wind-powered electrolysis facility, transported to the refueling station via mobile hydrogen storage equipment, and then supplied to the L 566 H loader.

The hydrogen production and supply chain is supported by HY.City.Bremerhaven facilities, with Green Fuels involved in organizing the regional hydrogen supply chain. The project connects local wind power generation, electrolytic hydrogen production, mobile hydrogen storage and transport, end-point refueling, and actual use by heavy machinery, while simultaneously collecting equipment operation and hydrogen supply data during the testing period.

This field testing is part of the H2B:IMPACT project. Supported by the European Union and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, the project conducts demonstrations around Germany's regional hydrogen energy industrial chain. Liebherr's wheel loader manufacturing division in Bischofshofen, Austria, participated in the machine's development and plans to use data from this multi-year testing round to continue advancing the development of hydrogen-powered large construction machinery technology.