EarthGrid

EarthGrid (also styled Earthgrid PBC) is an American public benefit corporation founded in 2016 in San Francisco, California, by Troy Helming. The company is developing a plasma-based tunnel-boring technology intended to make undergrounding of transmission cables and pipelines — for high-speed internet, renewable energy, drinking water and other utilities — faster, cheaper and more environmentally benign than conventional mechanical drilling. Its stated mission is to replace aging, weather-exposed overhead infrastructure with a reliable, efficient and resilient "SuperGrid." At the core of the company's offering is a patented plasma-powered boring system. Rather than grinding rock with mechanical cutters, EarthGrid's machines induce thermal shock on the rock surface, causing spallation — tiny fragments breaking off under stress. The company says its plasma torches, mounted on rotating discs in a Fibonacci spiral pattern, can reach temperatures of up to 27,000 °C and tackle hard rock such as granite or basalt using specialized "rock recipes" for each rock type. EarthGrid claims its approach is up to 100 times faster than traditional tunneling and can cost up to 98% less, while avoiding drilling chemicals, mud and the frequent replacement of drill bits and cutting heads. The tunnels need not be circular; square or arched profiles are possible, which the company says simplifies cable racking and, for larger bores, road surfaces. EarthGrid has funded its development through a mix of venture and crowdfunding. According to the company, it raised US$17 million in seed capital in 2016, added about US$3 million through a NetCapital crowdfunding campaign in 2019 involving 1,516 investors, and raised a further US$27 million in a second financing round in 2023. By late 2023 it was in an advanced stage of developing its "Rapid Burrowing Robot" (RBR), a boring robot carrying multiple plasma torches on discs. At that time it was competing with rival Petra, which was pursuing similar plasma drilling technology, and both companies aimed to commercialize during 2024. EarthGrid positions itself at the intersection of energy infrastructure, tunneling and advanced manufacturing. Its target markets are the United States and Canada, where it argues that burying the vast majority of transmission cables and pipes would protect critical infrastructure from extreme weather and natural disasters. The company operates as a public benefit corporation, signaling a dual mandate of profit and public benefit.

EarthGrid PBC was founded in 2016 in San Francisco, California, by Troy Helming, as a public benefit corporation. The founding goal was to create a technology that would make it feasible to bury the vast majority of transmission cables and pipes — for high-speed internet, renewable energy, drinking water and other utilities — across the United States and Canada, shielding them from weather and natural disasters. According to the company, it was financed in 2016 with US$17 million in seed capital. In 2019 it supplemented this with a crowdfunding campaign on NetCapital that raised an additional US$3 million from 1,516 investors. In 2023 it raised a further US$27 million in a second financing round. By late 2023, EarthGrid was in an advanced stage of developing its "Rapid Burrowing Robot" (RBR), a boring robot with multiple plasma torches mounted on discs. Using plasma generated from electricity and air flow, the torches reach temperatures of up to 27,000 °C, breaking and vaporizing rock at speeds up to 100 times faster than conventional mechanical technologies. The plasma torches are mounted in a Fibonacci spiral pattern so that they cover the entire bore area as the discs rotate. The company says this new boring technology has lower costs than traditional methods — no need to change drill bits and cutting heads several times a day, lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions, less labor, and no mud or drilling chemicals. The tunnels bored need not be circular; they can also be square with an arch at the top, which facilitates the installation of cable racks and, for larger tunnels for vehicle traffic, the possibility of road surfaces on flat ground. By late 2023 EarthGrid was in full competition with rival company Petra, which was also developing the same technology, and both planned to commercialize during 2024.

• 2024

  EarthGrid and rival Petra planned to commercialize plasma boring technology.

• 2023

  Second financing round raises US$27 million; Rapid Burrowing Robot (RBR) in advanced development.

• 2019

  Crowdfunding campaign on NetCapital raises an additional US$3 million from 1,516 investors.

• 2016

  EarthGrid PBC founded in San Francisco by Troy Helming; raises US$17 million in seed capital.

Developer of patented plasma tunnel-boring technology to build a resilient underground SuperGrid at a fraction of the cost and time of conventional methods.

• Rapid Burrowing Robot (RBR)

  A boring robot with multiple plasma torches mounted on discs, using plasma from electricity and air flow to reach up to 27,000 °C and break rock up to 100 times faster than conventional mechanical technologies.

• Plasma tunnel-boring technology

  Patented plasma-powered machines that induce thermal shock and spallation in rock, avoiding drilling chemicals and enabling non-circular tunnel profiles.

1. 1EarthGrid™ Plasma Tunnel-Boring Technologyearthgrid.io
2. 2Earthgrid - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Earthgrid - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org