Liebherr fights global warming

Manufacturer Liebherr has announced that from September 2021 all mobile and crawler cranes produced at its Ehingen plant in Germany will be able to be powered by pure Co2-neutral hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO).

HVO is a synthetic fuel manufactured from hydrated vegetable and animal oil and fat waste from the food industry. Crucially, Liebherr pledges to work with HVO manufacturers and suppliers to use palm oil-free HVO.

Instant emission savings

In addition, all existing mobile and crawler crane combustion engines up to the 560 KW class will be Liebherr-approved for use with HVO or other renewable synthetic fuels. These can be added to conventional diesel in any ratio enabling instant emissions savings.

This is particularly important, says Liebherr, to help reduce the footprint of existing machines that could remain in use for many years to come – particularly in regions such as Asia, Africa or South America.

The company also plans to switch all plant vehicles at its Ehingen production base to HVO fuel, and the filling station at the Liebherr plant in Ehingen will shortly be converted to HVO fuel, saving an estimated 2.5 million litres of fossil diesel per year.

Alternative fuel availability

Liebherr notes a key challenge will be the practicability and availability of alternative fuels which, like diesel, must be widely available and in plentiful quantities at filling stations. The company is optimistic, however, that HVO (either pure or as an additive), plus other synthetic, paraffin-based fuels, are become more widely available ­– evidenced by the increasing number of HVO filling stations in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands and Belgium.