Hydrogen fuel-cell wheel loader completes six-month pilot at a steel mill
The loader matched its diesel twin on uptime, but refuelling logistics remain the open question.
A hydrogen fuel-cell wheel loader built by Maddox Machinery has finished a six-month pilot handling slag and scrap at a European steel mill, running two shifts a day alongside a diesel machine of the same size.
The mill says the prototype matched the diesel loader on availability and operators noticed little difference in performance. Refuelling took about 15 minutes from a mobile dispenser trailer, similar to refuelling with diesel.
Why hydrogen, not batteries?
For heavy loaders working around the clock, a battery big enough for a full shift adds weight and still needs hours to charge. Hydrogen offers diesel-like refuelling, but only where there is a reliable supply, and a steel mill that already uses hydrogen in its processes is an unusually good fit.
“The machine was the easy part. Getting hydrogen to the right place at the right time every day took more planning than anything else.”
Maddox plans a small production run for 2028, aimed at industrial sites with their own hydrogen supply.
- Hydrogen
- Wheel loaders
- Decarbonisation
