Komatsu’s next-generation underwater bulldozer is an electric car

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show wasn’t just about big screens and big AI. It also involved large bulldozers that can operate underwater.

Komatsu, a century-old global heavy equipment manufacturer (and title sponsor of Formula 1’s Williams Racing team), unveiled its next-generation amphibious bulldozer at the technology show held in Las Vegas last week. The debut product, which marked the company’s first-ever appearance at CES, was also not merely a concept, but a fully functional, all-electric autonomous prototype.

According to Interesting technologyThe electric underwater bulldozer has a battery capacity of 450 kWh and a charging time of four hours. However, the battery pack could potentially be increased to 500 kWh, which would give the underwater EV a runtime of up to six hours. Currently, the amphibious bulldozer can only dive to a depth of seven meters due to GPS limitations. However, Komatsu plans to increase the operational depth to 50 m (164 ft).

But last I checked, Atlantis wasn’t planning on rebuilding. What is the use of underwater bulldozing? Is there a need for such equipment? For the past fifty years the answer has been yes. Komatsu introduced its first underwater bulldozer in 1970. The following year, the D155W went into mass production as the world’s first amphibious bulldozer, and has since been used on more than 1,200 project sites throughout Japan.

In addition to daily construction needs, such as coastal construction projects to limit damage from storm surges, the underwater bulldozer has been used to maintain rivers and coastlines. This includes dredging rivers to aid port navigation and minimize flooding, as well as to aid in the recovery of ecosystems.

“[To take] a bulldozer used on land and using it underwater was in a way an extraordinary challenge,” said Shuu Komatsu, team manager of the Komatsu Hydraulic Excavator-Bulldozer Development Group. “I find it amazing that our predecessors at Komatsu developed this more than 50 years ago, and it is still in use today. I don’t think there is any similar construction equipment out there.”