Decarbonising off-highway machines

What defines the technology-neutral approach to decarbonisation?

Liebherr is not preselecting one pathway, but decides machine by machine, based on four pillars: greenhouse gas reduction potential, energy source and infrastructure availability, technical maturity under real operating conditions and long lifetimes, and economic viability – because products must remain competitive on the market.

Although the use phase typically has the greatest impact on CO₂ emissions, the full lifecycle is considered. In parallel, Liebherr supports enabling infrastructure. One example is the Liduro Power Port, a mobile energy storage solution that can supply electrical machines on a job site even with limited grid power or limited availability over time. During the last years, Liebherr has invested significantly in alternative drive technologies, including electric solutions and alternative fuels.

Which fuel options complement electrification in the near term?

The development teams are working on several alternative fuel pathways. A pragmatic drop-in option is Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). HVO is an easy, established alternative for fossil diesel and CO₂ savings of 70 to 80 percent can already be achieved. In Germany, HVO 100 is approved and already available via many fuelling stations. Nevertheless, given the availability of raw materials, HVO is unlikely to completely replace diesel.

E-fuels are also considered as another drop-in route. The key is the availability at attractive costs. Liebherr therefore ensures that customers are prepared to switch to CO₂-neutral or CO₂-reduced alternatives with currently available machines.

A bigger shift involves hydrogen. Liebherr is developing hydrogen-powered engines and machines, with a current focus on 700 bar gaseous hydrogen storage. Runtime will not yet mirror diesel on a single tank, but for bigger machines with a high share of continuous power demand, hydrogen can run longer within the available installation space than battery-electric solutions available today. It can also enable fast refuelling times, comparable to diesel refuelling.

At a technology level, longer-term options are also under preparation. This includes hydrogen fuel cell powertrains and ammonia combustion engines for specific applications – which might be relevant, for example, in mining in the future.

What are the current strengths – and limits – of electrification?

Electrification is available today. Key components exist and are mature, depending on the solution. There are already electric Liebherr machines in the field, and more are in the pipeline. One of the main targets is to reach a positive TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). Thanks to the high efficiency of electric powertrains, this is realistic in the near future, even if conventional fossil-fuelled machines are not yet matched in all cases.

Where batteries are used, infrastructure is decisive. Electric energy is not available everywhere, and not everywhere is it available with the power needed to charge the machines in a suitable time. Many small and mid-size machines can work well, depending on the application and whether recharging during breaks is possible.

However, electrification is not always battery-electric. Some machines operate semistationary or stationary in specific applications. In these cases, grid connection is a very good option to reach a drastic CO₂ reduction, depending on the electricity mix and how it’s produced.

Are hybrid powertrains a practical solution for specific applications?

Combining technologies can be valuable in specific applications, as hybrid examples show. One example is the Liebherr LTM 1150-5.4E mobile crane. It can run on battery power for crane operations for a limited time when no grid is available. It can also be powered by or charged from the grid when it is available. For transport, a diesel engine is still required today, because installing the required battery energy on such a machine is just not possible from a technical perspective. On site, however, the machine operates with zero local emissions. The diesel engine is HVO-ready, delivered filled with HVO.

Another hybrid example is the HS 8100.2 dual power duty cycle crawler crane. It uses fully electric drives for winches, travel drive, and slewing drive. Energy can come from different sources: base power can come from the grid or from a smaller combustion engine, fuelled with e-fuels, HVO or similar alternatives. An onboard battery supports peak shaving and is complemented by recuperation. This machine is still under development and not yet in series production, but market entry is expected in the coming years.

What are the key challenges in decarbonising off-highway powertrains?

A main challenge today is limited market pull. Demand is clearer in specific regions, such as the Netherlands or Scandinavia. Outside those pockets, uptake remains limited, and growth has been lower than expected since the topic gained momentum.

Cost is the second major hurdle. If machines were cheaper and competitive in TCO, momentum could increase. But TCO is only one topic, because the investments – the initial costs – are typically higher than those of conventional machines. That is why Liebherr continues to work on solutions that reduce costs and enable more competitive pricing. Of course, technical challenges exist but can be solved once the market grows. Timing is also linked to regulation.

The approach is to be prepared. This requires close interaction with customers and markets to find the right timing and to build experience with future topics.

What excites you most about moving forward when it comes to different powertrain options?

The real measure of success is seeing alternative powertrain solutions prove themselves in everyday operation. When customers recognise that higher efficiency justifies a higher initial investment – and that this helps advance alternative technologies in practice – the development effort behind these solutions is validated.