Liebherr’s component segment will introduce the first prototype of hydrogen combustion engines, the H964 and H966, at this year’s Bauma exhibition. Each prototype will employ different hydrogen injection technologies such as direct injection (DI) and port fuel injection (PFI), the firm said.
The first machine running with a 100% hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine (ICE) is the Liebherr R 9XX H2 crawler excavator. In it, the zero-emission six cylinder engine, H966, fulfils the specific requirements in terms of power and dynamics. The R 9XX H2 with the H966 engine in its port fuel injection configuration will be on display at booth 809/810 and 812/813, it noted.
Liebherr said it will also present its four cylinder engine, H964, equipped with DI technology at booth 326 in hall A4. In this case, hydrogen is injected directly into the combustion chamber, whereas with the PFI solution it is blown into the air intake port.
In July 2022, Cummins and Komatsu said they were collaborating on zero-emissions mining haul trucks and, in August 2022, Liebherr said it would display its rail-road excavator with hydrostatic drive at Bauma 2022.
“DI offers increased potential in terms of combustion efficiency and power density, which makes hydrogen engines an attractive alternative to diesel engines when it comes to more demanding applications,” Liebherr stated.
In the future, combustion engines will no longer be powered solely by fossil diesel. In order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, fuels from sustainable energy sources will have to be used. Green hydrogen is one of them, since it is a promising carbon-free fuel, which does not cause any CO2 emissions whilst burning inside the ICE, the company concluded.
In September 2022, the first Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 in Saudi Arabia was said to be delivered to ACT.