Liebherr L 566 H hydrogen wheel loader begins multi-year trial at Bremerhaven fishing port
Georg Grube GmbH is running the hydrogen-powered L 566 H in daily bulk handling, refuelled at a dedicated station on the Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Lab site.
Liebherr has placed its hydrogen-powered L 566 H wheel loader into a multi-year field trial at Georg Grube GmbH in Bremerhaven's fishing port. The machine handles bulk goods alongside crane systems, conveyor belts and silos.
At the site, the loader feeds conveyor systems, moves sand, gravel and rock between storage areas and loads processed material onto lorries. A dedicated refuelling station on the premises of the Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Lab lets the machine refuel quickly after a shift. Green hydrogen for the trial is produced regionally: wind turbines power an electrolyser run by HY.City.Bremerhaven, and the hydrogen reaches the station via mobile storage.
Liebherr frames the trial as a test of hydrogen as an energy source for a large wheel loader under real conditions; the company says the machine is a prototype, and the source does not establish series production or availability. For shops weighing alternative drivetrains on heavy bulk-handling work, the case rests on uptime and refuelling speed as much as emissions.
The trial forms part of the H2B:IMPACT project, which the article describes as Germany's first Hydrogen Valley, backed by the EU and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.