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Liebherr and Fortescue repower R 9400 excavator to electric configuration

February 06, 2024

Liebherr Mining and Fortescue have successfully converted an R 9400 excavator from a diesel to an electric powertrain. 

This is the first time in Liebherr’s more than 40 years of working with electric excavators that the company has repowered one of its excavators from diesel to electric configuration during the standard service life of the machine.

A hydrogen Offboard Power Unit (OPU) designed and developed by Fortescue will be used to power the newly converted R 9400 E and is currently undergoing site-based testing within Fortescue’s purpose-built zero emission testing area at Christmas Creek.

“The modular design of Liebherr equipment makes it possible to repower existing diesel excavators to new zero emission configurations, such as electric powertrains,” Weiss continues. “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 decarbonised mining fleets for our customers is one of the key strategies of the Liebherr Zero Emission Mining Program.”