For the first time in the company’s 40-year history, Liebherr has changed one of its R 9400 excavators from a traditional diesel engine to a powertrain.
The redesigned mining device was commissioned at the Fortescue Christmas Creek mine in Western Australia and, more importantly, the conversion took place during the popular life of the device.
“The modular design of Liebherr equipment makes it possible to repower existing diesel excavators to new zero emission configurations, such as electric powertrains,” explains Oliver Weiss, Executive Vice President of R&D, Engineering, and Manufacturing for Liebherr Mining. “This means that the diesel equipment customers buy today is also future-proofed for many years to come. The fact that we can ease the transition from traditional to decarbonized mining fleets for our customers is one of the key strategies of the Liebherr Zero Emission Mining Program.”
Liebherr partnered with mining visitor Fortescue to execute the repowering, with engineers from both companies working to ensure the new electric excavator was up to the demanding daily mining conditions. The upgrades themselves were carried out at the Liebherr-Australia branch in Perth. , Western Australia.
“This is an exciting milestone for Fortescue and Liebherr as we work together to expand zero-emission responses to global desires to move beyond fossil fuels,” said Dino Otranto, CEO of Fortescue Metals. “Our partnership with Liebherr is an example of true collaboration and how heavy industry can work together to decarbonize and phase out fossil fuels. “
The switched R 9400 can be connected to a constant power source, either to the mains or to a large-scale BESS. For now, the excavator is connected to a hydrogen-powered external force unit (OPU) designed and evolved through Fortescue, which is ultimately undergoing on-site testing.
The large-scale conversion of petrol and diesel cars to electric cars is a concept fraught with obstacles. In fact, there are too many to list here.
Everything from excavators to loaders to heavy-duty trucks is designed to be powertrain-agnostic, and brands offer the same base vehicle with Cummins, Detroit Diesel or Volvo engines, so there’s already some degree of openness in those systems. Libeherr goes a step further by installing an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. And if the task is successful, it may be just the first of many.
I’ve been working in and around the automotive industry since the 90’s and have written for several well-known media outlets such as CleanTechnica, The Truth About Cars, Popular Mechanics, and more. You can see me on The Heavy Equipment Podcast with Mike. Switzer, on the AutoHub Show with Ian and Jeff, or chasing my kids around Oak Park, Illinois.