Philip Van Der Burg
CEO | Carbonix
Monday | 11:00am
TALK TITLE
Transforming vegetation management: Monitoring encroachment risks to powerlines
BIO
Philip spent the bulk of his 15-year career working with Aerospace and Defence technology companies. His experience spans across multiple international CFO and corporate finance roles throughout Australia, Europe and the U.S. He is a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds an MSc in Management and Internal Audit from Cass Business School in London, in addition to a Bachelor of Engineering. Philip started his career at Jefferies & Co. where he was part of the investment bank’s Aerospace and Defense team, and has founded and grown various technology and business services.
ABSTRACT
The increasing complexity and heightened regulatory compliance associated with vegetation management pose significant challenges to power networks, where encroachment risks threaten reliability and safety to powerlines and those that rely on them. Traditional methods of monitoring and asset inspection, which are predominantly manual ground-based surveys and large aerial vehicles such as helicopters, are proving increasingly outdated, costly, and less effective in addressing the scale and precision demanded by modern utilities.
At Arboriculture 2025, we will explore how industry trends are reshaping vegetation management practices and highlight the transformative impact of emerging technologies. Power networks are increasingly shifting toward data-driven approaches, adopting safer, more cost-effective, and more efficient methods to collect high-quality visual data for vegetation encroachment monitoring.
A key focus will be on how Carbonix, a leader in advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) solutions, has developed a purpose-built system for this critical use case. Designed to overcome the limitations of traditional data-capture methods, Carbonix's UAV technology delivers leading capabilities in data precision, scalability, and operational safety.
Carbonix will be sharing case studies that showcase the benefits and results driven by the adoption of UAV technology in vegetation monitoring, following practical implementation with some of Australia’s leading power networks. The enhanced data insights received through their UAV solutions, paired with the reduced environmental footprint, positions this forward-thinking approach as the future of vegetation management.
As vegetation management practices require further compliance and high-precision operations, the importance of utilising industry-best methods and technology has never been more prominent. This presentation will highlight the importance of modern solutions for vegetation encroachment monitoring as the power network industry shifts towards smarter, safer, and more sustainable practices.