While Elon Musk is considering a new project for tunneling in San Bernardino, California, EarthGrid has filed a patent for a plasma drill rig that has been compared to Star Wars lightsabers. New robot can dig underground tunnels, according to New Atlas publication 100 times fastermore than its competitors and at the same time about 98 percent less cost.

What is known about technology

• All modern technologies in the field of tunnel construction are based on the fact that special machines equipped with cutting elements pass through the rock layer. It is expensive and very slow. The aforementioned Elon Musk’s The Boring Company is building a facility that can traverse up to 250 meters per day. Other companies operate more slowly, with huge costs.
• In EarthGrid, mechanical motion has been replaced by high temperature and pressure, causing it to crumble, blow and even evaporation of rock material. The equipment can operate autonomously without touching the tunnel walls and without stopping, limited only by the power supply. By the way, it excludes the appearance of harmful emissions.

Installing EarthGrid / Photo of EarthGrid

• At the heart of EarthGrid is a plasma burner system mounted on a special disc.
• The burners are located on the disk according to the Fibonacci spiral so that the flame from them covers the entire diameter of the future tunnel.
• During operation, the disc rotates and the rock is thrown back to be removed from the working area by electric trolleys.
• The back of the appliance spits out cereal-size stone chips.
• Tunnels of different diameters can be built this way – the technology is easily scalable.

Drilling plasma portion of EarthGrid installation / Photo by EarthGrid

Working speed reaches a great value for drilling rigs – 1 kilometer per day. Using a new approach can make economically unprofitable projects unviable.

EarthGrid hopes to use its technology to create an underground tunnel network that will provide the United States with renewable energy that will help stabilize power grids and protect infrastructure from the elements.

EarthGrid showed a brief presentation of its technology: a video

EarthGrid showed a brief presentation of its technology: a video