--- title: "Startup Says It Can Dig Tunnels Really Fast by Melting Through Rock" description: "Instead of grinding through rock with a massive grinder, a startup called Petra is hoping to dig tunnels using super heated gas." date: "2021-12-10" modified: "2021-12-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-dig-tunnels-melting-rock" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "the digest" - "tunnel boring machine" - "tunnels" --- # Startup Says It Can Dig Tunnels Really Fast by Melting Through Rock ![Instead of grinding through rock with a massive grinder, a startup called Petra is hoping to dig tunnels using super heated gas.]() *\Image: Petra\* ## Melting Rock Instead of crushing through rock with a massive grinder, a startup called Petra is hoping to dig tunnels using superheated gas, [*Wired* reports](). In 2018, according to the magazine, the company tested the technology in an industrial park in California, heating up the stone to above 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Since then, Petra settled on a slightly different method, blasting sheets of rock into tiny pieces using a 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit using gas and heat, a proprietary mix the company is keeping tightly under wraps. Instead of digging tunnels to alleviate our traffic woes, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk is attempting with his [Boring Company](), Petra is hoping to revolutionize a very different industry: running underground utility lines. That may not sound like the most exciting prospect, but given many countries' rapidly aging infrastructure, new technologies like this could prove to be a game changer — and maybe, eventually, provide some new tools to ventures like the Boring Company. ## Heat and Gas Petra's hot gas method could cut costs of burying these lines by 50 to 80 percent, according to the company. "Every method that's commercially available is a high-contact method that grinds up the Earth it contacts in order to remove it," Petra CEO Kim Abrams told *Wired*. "This is a completely new way to tunnel." It wasn't always smooth sailing. During early tests, "we just ended up melting a lot of the rock and creating lava, and when we created lava, it was effectively holding our system in its tracks," Abrams told the publication. Now Petra is investigating whether the method works on other kinds of stone including limestone or granite. All told, it's intriguing. Moving more electricity lines underground could mean a lot more Americans could enjoy uninterrupted power, something not everybody can take for granted. And accessing the space under our feet for cheap has countless fascinating applications. **READ MORE:** [This New Tech Cuts Through Rock Without Grinding Into It]() \[*Wired*\] **More on tunneling:** *[Tesla Fan Page Relentlessly Mocked for Incredibly Stupid Post]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()