Lower Thames Crossing targets 150 zero-emission machines by 2028, CECE Congress hears

The Lower Thames Crossing had 31 electric machines working by October 2026 and is aiming for about 150 zero-emission machines by 2028, delegates heard on the closing day of CECE Congress 2026 in London on 29 October.

The Construction Equipment Association (CEA), which hosted the three-day event at IET Savoy Place, said the final day split into a Technical Forum and an Economic Forum covering regulation, standards, safety technology, market forecasts and finance.

The congress, run by the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE), takes place every two years and is hosted by the country of the current CECE President, the CEA said when it announced the London dates in May. It expected more than 150 delegates at that stage; its report on the 28 October plenary day put attendance at around 200.

Viki Bell, CEO of the CEA, said in May: "Bringing the CECE Congress to London is a real opportunity for the UK to host the European industry."

London's emissions timetable

The Technical Forum, supported by Safety Shield and moderated by CEA Senior Technical Advisor Dale Camsell, opened with a recorded presentation from the Greater London Authority's air quality manager, listed in the CECE programme as Debbie Obafemi.

According to the CEA, she set out London's approach to non-road mobile machinery emissions, including a minimum of Stage V standards across London from 2030 and an ambition for zero-emission machinery by 2040.

The Lower Thames Crossing fleet

Neesha Pandya, Head of Low Carbon Delivery, and Michael Chester, Zero Emissions Programme Manager, presented the Lower Thames Crossing as a working example of decarbonisation. The CEA said the team stressed early energy planning, procurement, understanding costs and sharing lessons, and that its advice to the industry was to start small, build confidence and scale up.

Lower Thames Crossing zero-emission fleet	Machines
In use by October 2026	31
Target by 2028	150

National Highways said on 30 September that more than 30 zero-emissions machines were already working on sites across Kent and Essex, including 20 tonne excavators, rollers, tractors, telehandlers and hydrogen generators, with the fleet expected to reach around 150 by peak construction in 2028.

No diesel has been permitted on the project's construction sites since 2025, National Highways said, and its green hydrogen is supplied by British firm GeoPura. It said the scheme is on track to be the first major infrastructure project in the UK to be carbon neutral, with the road expected to open in the early to mid-2030s.

Standards, safety and regulation

A panel of Maxwell Green of Make UK, Igor de Liefde of Hitachi Construction Machinery, Daniel Mansfield of the British Standards Institution (BSI), Jason Ong of Komatsu Europe and Ryan Pratt of UKAS discussed standards, regulatory alignment, conformity assessment and market surveillance.

Simon Bailey, Head of Strategic OEM Integration at Safety Shield Global, described the engineering work involved in integrating AI-powered human detection into construction equipment, using the Komatsu crawler excavator range as an example.

CECE policy managers Martina Griffo and Laura Fiumara gave a regulatory update that included the EU Machinery Regulation, which applies from 20 January 2027.

Market outlook and finance

The afternoon Economic Forum, supported by DLL and moderated by Rajesh Nath, Managing Director of VDMA India, turned to global markets and financing.

Chris Sleight, Managing Director of Off-Highway Research, forecast 3% growth in global construction equipment unit sales in 2026. His longer-term analysis pointed to a cyclical market peak of 1.4 to 1.5 million machines a year in the late 2020s or early 2030s, the CEA said.

DLL's Maja Josifovska and Phil King presented data showing an approved financing pipeline about 30% larger than a year earlier, although customers were taking longer to commit. The forum closed with a discussion on India-Europe industrial relationships with Dr Atul Deshmukh of JCB, Manuela Galante of Carmix and V. G. Sakthikumar of Schwing Stetter India.

On the plenary day, delegates polled by moderator and CECE Secretary General Riccardo Viaggi gave an average optimism score of 7.7 out of ten for the sector's future, and a separate poll suggested the sector must do more to engage the next generation. CECE President Phil Layton addressed Europe's manufacturing position.

Congress sponsors were platinum sponsor JCB, DLL, Safety Shield, Caterpillar, PlantWorx, ELITE Consultancy Network, EZLEE Industrial, CESAR, Trackunit and Aptean.

CECE Congress will return in 2028, hosted in Germany, with the location and dates to be announced early in 2028.