Economic Efficiency Through Intelligent Hydraulic Control
The construction industry has significant impacts on the environment and energy consumption. According to the Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024–2025 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the sector is responsible for approximately 34% of global CO2 emissions and accounts for around 32% of global energy consumption.
At the same time, construction companies face growing economic pressure: Surveys indicate that two-thirds of construction equipment buyers now evaluate investments based on lifecycle emissions, and approximately 70% of European construction projects define formal sustainability objectives. Fuel represents a central cost factor. Every liter saved directly affects operating costs and the CO2 balance.
Comacchio and the Path to High-Performance Efficiency
Since 2019, the Italian drilling rig manufacturer Comacchio has been systematically increasing the energy efficiency of diesel-hydraulic machines. With the introduction of the HPE concept (High Power Efficiency), an electronic control system was developed for the first time that precisely adjusts hydraulic pump pressure and flow to the actual power demand.
This technology has been continuously refined and culminated in today’s +Efficiente system – a combination of modern electronics, specialized software, and optimized hydraulic architecture.
Technical Approach: More Work Per Liter of Diesel
Conventional hydraulic systems lose 20–30% of engine power due to pump losses, throttling losses, oversizing, and lack of coordination between engine and pump.
+Efficiente addresses this issue: A precise electronic control regulates pressure and flow in real time. The pump delivers exactly the amount of oil required for the respective work process. This minimizes energy losses and efficiently transfers available power to the tool, e.g., the rotary head during drilling.
Measurable Economic Benefits
Optimized energy transfer reduces fuel consumption by an average of approximately 15%, depending on machine type and application. At the same time, load response, cycle times, and power output improve.
As explained by the Comacchio engineering team in the technical report, efficiency here means not only lower consumption but also higher productivity: More power at the tool, faster work cycles, and better utilization of installed engine capacity.
Reduced Maintenance, Longer Service Life
The electro-hydraulic control enables a simplified system architecture with fewer lines, lower heat generation, and reduced stress on oil and components. This extends maintenance intervals, reduces wear, and increases machine availability.
According to Comacchio system engineers, over the lifecycle of a drilling rig, particularly in demanding applications, savings of several thousand euros per year are possible, depending on operating intensity and fuel price.
Efficiency as a Competitive Factor
+Efficiente combines three central requirements of modern construction projects:
- Lower operating costs through reduced diesel consumption
- Increased productivity through better power delivery
- Improved environmental performance to meet tender and sustainability criteria
Efficiency thus becomes a direct economic advantage and a decisive factor for competitiveness in specialized deep foundation construction.
All details of the Comacchio +Efficiente concept can be found here.
