January 12, 2025 -- The coolest underwater EV at CES is Komatsu's underwater bulldozer. It’s also fully autonomous so operators don’t have to hold their breath at 164 feet beneath the surface.

Komatsu, a century-old global manufacturer of heavy equipment (and principal sponsor of Formula 1‘s Williams Racing team), unveiled its next-generation amphibious bulldozer at the tech show held last week in Las Vegas. Marking the company’s first-ever appearance at CES, the debut product wasn’t a mere concept either but a fully functional, all-electric autonomous prototype. 

Click here for the YouTube video: Underwater Construction of the Future for Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan

According to Interesting Engineering, the underwater electric bulldozer has a battery capacity of 450 kWh and a four-hour charging time. However, the battery pack can potentially be increased to 500 kWh, which would give the underwater EV a running time of up to six hours. Right now, the amphibious bulldozer can dive only to a depth of 7 meters because of GPS limitations. However, Komatsu plans to increase its operational depth to 50 m.

Last I checked, though, Atlantis wasn’t looking to rebuild. So, what’s the point of bulldozing underwater? Is there a need for such equipment? For the last 50-plus 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 utilized at more than 1,200 project sites throughout Japan.

Beyond everyday construction needs, such as coastal build projects to mitigate storm surge damage, the underwater bulldozer has been deployed to maintain rivers and coastlines. This includes river dredging to support harbour navigation and minimize flooding, as well as assisting in ecosystem restoration efforts.

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