First Green Hydrogen Powered Wheel Loader in Quarry

A hydrogen-powered wheeled excavator is being tested by Strabag, Liebherr and Energie Steiermark at the Gratkorn quarry near Graz. For the first time, this pilot project will use green hydrogen instead of diesel in large wheeled loaders, potentially saving up to 37,500 litres of diesel and around 100 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The construction sector accounts for 38 percent of global emissions. Strabag, Austria’s largest construction company, has set itself the goal of reducing greenhouse gases. “We want to be climate neutral by 2040,” said Strabag CEO Clemens Hasselsteiner at the start of the project this week. “We can only achieve this if we completely and consistently save CO2.” Together with Liebherr and Energie Steiermark, they are now trying to develop innovative drive solutions.

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Liebherr has developed a hydrogen engine that can power large vehicles without CO2, explains Herbert Pfapp of Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH. The engines from the Liebherr plant in Pöll (Switzerland) are said to be certified as zero-emission and meet future limits on nitrogen oxides.

Strabag and Liebherr now want to test the excavator in daily operation for several years. Energie Steiermark is building up the necessary hydrogen supply in the quarry, which will strengthen Styria as a location, said board member Martin Graf.

Strabag is also taking other measures to produce sustainable building materials, such as replacing diesel-powered equipment with electric conveyors in Saalfelden and using autonomous electric dump trucks in Thuringia. In Gaden, an abandoned section of stone has been reworked and is now a vital habitat for many species.

Environment Minister Leonore Gewisler attended the presentation of the dredger project in Styria and described green hydrogen as “an indispensable component of our energy future.”

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