Engineering Matters Podcast

Diving Deep into Electric Machinery

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Published

04 Aug 2025

Electrification of construction equipment is an ongoing and necessary part of the global effort to reduce carbon emissions and restrict global warming. 60 years ago, Fugro developed the first commercial cone penetration testing (CPT) equipment to run on electrical power, and today we are continuing that journey by electrifying the machine that carries it. What is more, we are employing this battery technology onto a new state-of-the-art machine that goes deeper than ever before to get more data about the ground beneath our feet.

This journey of innovation is not one that we have undertaken alone. Working in partnership with Dutch heavy lifting specialist Mammoet, the project benefitted from Dutch government investment to support our investigation into electrification of the CPT equipment. In this episode, we explore this new product and look ahead to how remote operations and innovations in battery technology could be incorporated in future machines.

Guests

  • Niek Bezuijen, Global Sustainability Advisor, Mammoet

  • Femke De Jager, Innovation Director Europe, Fugro

  • Peter Salome, Engineering Manager, Fugro

  • David Tindall, Product Manager Geotechnical Equipment Land, Fugro

References

NEN 9140 Veilig werken aan e-voertuige (Safe working on e-vehicles).

The Electric Deep Drive® innovation was realised with Schoon en Emissieloos Bouwmaterieel (SSEB) subsidy provided by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Episode #276 A deep understanding of the ground beneath our feet.

Partner

This episode was produced in partnership with Engineering Matters.

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Electric Deep Drive®

Step into the future of cone penetration testing with the Electric Deep Drive®. Safer, smarter, and built for net-zero, it transforms testing in emissions-regulated environments with deeper, uninterrupted data and all-electric operation.

Find out more