Bauma 2025: Liebherr to show off its hydrogen ICE loader
Liebherr is bringing hydrogen combustion to Bauma 2025 by unveiling the L 566 H – the company’s first ‘large wheel loader’ powered by a hydrogen-fuelled engine.
Liebherr says the prototype, which is based on the L 566 XPower, isn’t just a pretty concept.
Oh no. After the show, it’ll be heading straight into a two-year trial at STRABAG’s Gratkorn quarry in Austria, where Liebherr claims it will cut CO₂ emissions by up to 100 tonnes per year – the equivalent of burning through 37,500 litres of dirty diesel dinosaur juice.
Liebherr says the loader will run on green hydrogen, sourced from wind, hydro, or solar energy, ensuring that zero carbon emissions actually means zero carbon emissions in practice. Good news for the polar bears, then.
Why hydrogen combustion?
Liebherr has been building its own engines for decades, and its exploration of hydrogen follows a similar approach to some others in the industry, like JCB, who are adapting their diesel expertise to run on zero-carbon fuel.
The company says this allows the L 566 H to retain familiar mechanical architecture, making it a straightforward transition for operators and fleet owners.
And unlike battery-electric machines, which rely on externally sourced batteries – often from manufacturers outside of Europe – Liebherr has full control over its hydrogen combustion engine development.
For Liebherr, that means more margin on what it makes – and more jobs staying in Germany and Europe.
Fuel cells could have been another option for Liebherr’s hydrogen push, but they would require external suppliers – potentially from companies like Ballard or Toyota – shifting profits (and expertise) away from Liebherr’s own engineering teams.
The company argues that hydrogen combustion delivers a practical balance of zero CO₂ emissions, high power output, and rapid refuelling – a combination that some say remains somewhat of a challenge for battery-electric solutions in heavy-duty applications.
Hydrogen fuel cells are more efficient than hydrogen combustion, but – just like batteries – they are “inflationary”, i.e. cost more.
The two-year STRABAG trial
After Bauma, Liebherr says the L 566 H will begin a two-year pilot programme with STRABAG, one of Europe’s largest construction technology firms.
The company states that the machine will be put through real-world quarry operations at Gratkorn, testing its durability, refuelling practicality, and long-term emissions impact.
If it performs as expected, Liebherr suggests this could reinforce hydrogen combustion as a viable alternative for heavy-duty construction, particularly in sectors where battery-electric power struggles with uptime and weight constraints – particularly in the 40+ tonnes category.
Bauma is the showcase – the quarry is the test
Liebherr is presenting the L 566 H alongside its L 507 E battery-electric loader and a range of other machines, signalling that it sees multiple powertrain solutions in construction’s future.
But while battery-electric is becoming the easy but imperfect answer for the industry – because, politics – hydrogen combustion still has something to prove.
Liebherr’s hydrogen combustion strategy raises some bigger questions – why are firms like Liebherr and JCB choosing hydrogen engines over fuel cells?
Is it purely about engineering practicality, or is business strategy playing a bigger role.
