The Liebherr L 566 H wheel loader looks different with its humpback body and torquoise and white paint scheme — and it is different.

It's powered by hydrogen. Liebherr has joined JCB and Hyundai with prototypes actively testing the feasability of hydrogen-powered equipment. We first saw a Liebherr hydrogen loader in 2024 in Austria.

This particular machine is at work in the German port of Bremerhaven.

In its day-to-day operations at Georg Grube GmbH, the hydrogen-powered wheel loader feeds conveyor systems, transports sand, gravel, and rock between storage areas, and loads processed material onto trucks.

Every day, those large quantities of bulk cargo are handled, stored, processed, and transported onward. The workflows are tightly scheduled. 

For Georg Grube, the L 566 H’s practical 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," said Wolfgang Grube, owner and managing director of Georg Grube GmbH.

"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. A dedicated hydrogen refueling 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 refueled quickly after a shift," Grube said.

Yes, there is infrastructure

One of the strikes against hydrogen power here in North America is a lack of infrastructure from source to delivery. Pockets are showing up in Europe.

The specific conditions in Bremerhaven provide an ideal environment for practical application. In recent years, the region has developed into an important center for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

Fuel cell cars, buses, and trucks are already in use there. With the L 566 H, a hydrogen-powered wheel loader is now also expanding the range of applications away from public roads.

The project is providing important insights into the use of alternative powertrains in demanding applications and demonstrates that hydrogen propulsion can, in the future, represent an economically viable complementary technology to battery-electric powertrains, provided the right regional conditions are in place.

Green hydrogen, produced directly in the region, serves as the energy source within the pilot project. Wind turbines supply electricity, which an electrolyser from HY.City.Bremerhaven converts into hydrogen.

The hydrogen is then transported via mobile storage solutions to the hydrogen refueling station, where the L 566 H can be refueled.

“With this project, we are demonstrating how a regional hydrogen value chain can work in practice," said Andreas Wellbrock, managing director of Green Fuels and initiator of HY.City.Bremerhaven. "From production through to storage and transport, right through to refuelling and use in a heavy-duty machine, all the components fit together seamlessly.”

Partnership drives the research

The field test of the hydrogen-powered wheel loader forms part of the ‘H2B:IMPACT’ project, the first ‘Hydrogen Valley’ in Germany to be funded by the EU and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership (CHP). Each project partner contributes their specific expertise and helps to gather valuable experience with hydrogen-powered construction machines in day-to-day use.

The insights gained are intended to support the further development of sustainable propulsion solutions and open up new areas of application.

“The project demonstrates how, through the successful collaboration of ambitious partners and the integration of the hydrogen wheel loader into a hydrogen ecosystem, a functioning hydrogen value chain can already be established today," said Gunther Holzer, the Technical Managing Director of Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen where the wheel loader was built.

"It is crucial that Europe actively seizes the opportunities offered by this technology and positions itself successfully in the face of international competition,” Holzer said.

Georg Grube GmbH also sees the project as an important step for the future: “We are proud to be able to contribute to the development of this innovative propulsion technology through our practical deployment and thereby make material handling more low-emission in the long term." said Wolfgang Grube.

"The multiyear trial in Bremerhaven is intended to demonstrate that hydrogen can be a practical alternative to conventional propulsion systems, particularly for heavy-duty applications in material handling," Holzer said.

"The pilot project at the fishing harbor 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."