Liebherr crane powers Schwarze ASC's green shift with HVO fuel

Schwarze ASC GmbH is expanding its fleet with a new LTM 1150-5.3 mobile crane from Liebherr. This means that the crane and heavy lifting firm from Garbsen near Hanover is not only investing in tried-and-tested technology, but also sending a powerful message about greater climate protection: the new acquisition will run entirely on HVO 100 - a fuel made from hydrotreated vegetable oils that allows a CO₂ saving of up to 90 per cent during crane operation.

“We have already had exceptional experiences with the LTM 1130-5.1 and we’re delighted to be able to cover the performance class below our 220-tonner efficiently and sustainably with this 150-tonne crane,” says Nina Schwarze, Managing Director of the family-run company. The decision in favour of Liebherr was a deliberate one - not least due to the many years of excellent partnership and the machinery’s high resale value.




Schwarze goes green
Under the motto 'Schwarze goes green', the company is pursuing a comprehensive sustainability strategy and in March 2025 switched its entire operations to the alternative fuel. “This year, we’ll save around 850 tonnes of CO2. It would take 68,000 trees a year to absorb this amount,” explains Nina. So for Schwarze ASC GmbH, the compatibility of the new crane with sustainable fuels was particularly important: as with all Liebherr mobile and crawler cranes, the LTM 1150-5.3 is fully approved for operation with HVO.

Since September 2021, all new mobile and crawler cranes in Ehingen have been fuelled exclusively with pure HVO fuel, for test drives and crane acceptances, as well as for their very first tank of fuel. This makes the crane manufacturer from Ehingen a pioneer in the industry. “I’ve become aware of the topic of HVO at Liebherr’s recent customer days, and I couldn't get the idea out of my head. For us, HVO is a deliberate step towards greater climate protection, even if this alternative to diesel is currently more expensive. What really motivated me was the fact that HVO 100 offers the ability operate existing technology - especially heavy combustion engines – virtually CO₂-neutrally straight away without any conversion. From my perspective, this is significantly more sustainable than waiting for new technology which, in some parts of this sector, doesn't even exist yet,” reports Nina.

Schwarze’s sustainability strategy also includes having our own photovoltaic plant, using rainwater, an electrified fleet and a bee-keeping project on site. The switch to HVO now represents a further milestone in this journey.

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