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Tue, 18 Aug 2026

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 The critical tech staying safe by going underground

The war in Ukraine has spurred people to consider putting vital infrastructure underground.

* EarthGrid's tunnel-boring machine can dig up to 1 mile of tunnel per week, making it one of the most advanced in the world.
* The company is working with UK utility companies to develop a new generation of underground power cables that could increase energy supply by up to 20%.
* The London Power Tunnels project involved building 18 miles of tunnels under London to house large electricity cables.
* Arup's Mark Neller says that, elsewhere in the UK, simply installing additional circuits can provide sufficient resilience, and is a more cost-effective way than tunnelling.
* Richard Little, infrastructure policy consultant, suggests identifying specific facilities that would be difficult to restart or replace, such as computer chip manufacturing, as candidates for undergrounding.
* The use of technologies like laser-guidance systems and gyroscopes has made tunnelling more accurate in recent years.
* However, there are still significant challenges, including releasing potentially dangerous gases locked in the ground and occasional flooding issues.