The world leader in mobile harbour crane technology has announced the industry’s first hydraulic hybrid drive for mobile harbour cranes. The new Pactronic® - hybrid drive system addresses two critical issues: increasing handling performance and reducing fuel consumption.

Pactronic® - Power with Accumulator and Electronics
The Liebherr Pactronic® is a revolutionary new hydraulic hybrid drive system. It is characterized by an energy storage device. A hydraulic accumulator supplements the fluid pump in delivering power to the system. It serves as a pressure storage reservoir incorporating a gas in conjunction with a hydraulic fluid. Energy is stored in this compressed gas to be released upon demand.

The Liebherr Pactronic® is also an impressive power booster. Hoisting as well as lowering speeds are increased substantially – without the need to go for a bigger diesel engine with more output. Thus the crane’s efficiency reaches new levels with higher turnover figures.

In addition, the crane’s fuel consumption is significantly reduced.  This is achieved by fully utilizing the reverse energy and surplus power within the system.

“We believe Pactronic® is one of the most important innovations we’ve come up with to date,” says Dr. Klaus Schneider, Director Drive Systems. Pactronic® delivers customers a level of handling performance and power efficiency never seen before.”

Pactronic® - Mode of Operation
The conventional, hydrostatic hoist system of a Liebherr Mobile Harbour Crane is driven by a hydraulic motor, a pump and the prime mover (diesel or electric engine).
With Pactronic® a secondary energy source is added to the drive system. Charging of the accumulator is done by regenerating the reverse power while lowering the load. In addition, the surplus power of the primary energy source is also used for charging.
The stored energy of the accumulator is transferred back to the system when the crane requires peak power during hoisting. Consequently, the total hoisting power is the sum of the conventional hydrostatic power and the secondary energy, provided by the accumulator.

The accumulator is based on proven energy storage technology and has a designed service life equal to the crane. For increased efficiency, Pactronic® allows fast charging and discharging of the accumulator. The system is virtually maintenance free and is not affected by ambient temperature. The accumulator just needs visible inspections every 10 years and in addition, it is 100% recyclable.

The Pactronic® formula: 30% less fuel consumption and 30% more turnover
Pactronic® is most useful in situations where peak power is required, such as dedicated bulk handling for example. In comparison to Liebherr Mobile Harbour Cranes with a conventional drive system and identical turnover (tonnes/hour) the Pactronic® hybrid version needs 25% - 35% less fuel (litre/ton) depending on the crane’s operation mode.

In the current challenging economic times, it is important that large hybrid energy developments such as the Liebherr Pactronic® continue for sustainable carbon emission reductions. In-line with the fuel consumption, CO2 emissions are also decreased by 25-35%.

It is also beneficial for those users operating their cranes nearby residential areas where noise emissions are a crucial criteria as another key advantage of the Pactronic® is its reduced noise exposure.

When an application is started that requires the additional power, the Pactronic® can transfer power back to the system and jncrease the hoisting capabilities of the crane. When comparing the Pactronic® drive system with a conventional Liebherr Mobile Harbour Crane with identical primary energy (diesel engine or e-drive) installed, hoisting power is doubled resulting in an increased hoisting and lowering with up to 100% higher speeds. With a focus on turnover (tonnes/hour), the end user benefits from the increase in performance of 25–35% depending on the crane’s operation mode.

Sustainable technologies have always been high on Liebherr’s agenda. Production and products are constantly optimised to help reduce CO2 emissions and pollutants. Pactronic® stands for innovative, economical and environmentally friendly technology, energy recovery and increased performance with hybrid power.

“Offering a unique combination of extremely low fuel consumption and supreme performance, Pactronic® represents an essential milestone in Liebherr’s strategy on the way to genuine ultra-efficient, low-emission cargo handling. Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH looks forward to working with all customers to ensure that the Liebherr Pactronic® drive system will boost their cranes’ performances in line with a revolutionary new hydraulic hybrid drive system”, says Dr. Klaus Schneider.
 
About the company
The Liebherr Group comprises more than 100 companies worldwide and employs a total workforce in excess of 32,000 people. In 2009, Liebherr achieved a total consolidated turnover of about 7 billion Euros. The Liebherr Group’s holding company is Liebherr-International AG in Bulle (Switzerland), which is wholly owned by members of the Liebherr family. The business is now in the hands of the second generation of the family and is jointly run by Dipl. Kfm. Isolde Liebherr and her brother Dr. h.c. Dipl.-Ing. (ETH) Willi Liebherr.

Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH, Nenzing (Austria), is the largest maritime crane production site and head of the divisional controlling company, the Liebherr-MCCtec GmbH, which is responsible for the Liebherr range of maritime cranes.

The Liebherr-MCCtec GmbH has now four state-of-the-art production sites for maritime cranes in Nenzing, Rostock (Germany), Sunderland (United Kingdom) and Killarney (Ireland) as well as seven fully owned sales and service organisations in Hong Kong, Amersfoort (Netherlands), Hamburg (Germany), Niederhergheim (France), Istanbul (Turkey), Mumbai (India) and Baku (Azerbaijan). The maritime distribution network comprises 35 sales and service companies in total as well as a variety of third party agents and dealers. More than 3,300 employees are currently based at such various sites.