The 2022 Solar Manufacturing Incubator Funding Opportunity, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), seeks to develop next-generation solar technologies and strengthen American solar manufacturing. To do so, the prize helps accelerate the commercialization of innovative product ideas that enable continued solar cost reductions, especially in cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics.
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Problem
In an effort to underground approximately 10,000 miles of power lines in high fire threat districts, PG&E is looking for ways to increase the efficiency and decrease the cost of undergrounding. Subsurface mappings are used as a critical input to underground route design during the planning phase of every project. Existing technology that performs these mappings is limited by a lack of accuracy, high costs, manual nature, and tendency to cause project delays.
Desired properties
- Ability to identify and distinguish between various subsurface obstacles, including geological conditions and existing utilities that may not be marked and located properly by other subsurface operators (e.g., communications cables, fluids, etc.)
- Ability to geo-locate obstructions with a high degree of fidelity
- Reduction in manual labor necessary to either collect or interpret subsurface reading data
Specifications
Category 1: Advancing Subsurface Mapping Technologies
Problem statement
Though significant advances have been made in subsurface mapping technology, existing methods remain unable to provide a highly accurate and comprehensive view of subsurface conditions. Even cutting-edge technologies, such as ground penetrating radar (GPR), that are able to more accurately detect variations in subsurface conditions require significant human effort to interpret results, rendering the technology cost-prohibitive for widespread use. Further, mapping still requires additional site visits for physical surveys that can entail separate permitting processes, unnecessary manual labor, and added time. The need for improved subsurface mapping technology is imperative because imperfect information gathered from existing technology can lead to change orders in the field that increase costs and delays or result in costly dig-ins that disrupt existing underground infrastructure. Although it is the statutory responsibility of other subsurface operators to properly mark and locate their respective underground facilities, by better avoidance of potential improperly marked and located facilities of others, PG&E can eliminate conflict-related construction delays and costs. New technologies could provide key upfront planning and design process input in order to accelerate timelines in the early phases of a project and avoid delays once construction has begun.
Possible approaches
Any solutions that address issues with accurate and holistic data collection, interpretation, and storage are welcome. Possible approaches include drone-mounted surveying equipment to reduce the need for time-consuming labor, look ahead technology on drilling rigs, 3D subsurface mapping to identify existing underground obstacles and infrastructure, seismic refraction technologies, and machine learning assisted interpretation, among many others.
| Industrywide Market Gap | Potential Solution Category |
|---|---|
| Significant human effort is required to interpret results for current subsurface mapping technologies, and this adds burdensome costs to projects | Machine learning GPR interpretation to reduce required human labor. |
| Most mapping still requires physical site visits for surveys that often require separate permitting processes, unnecessary manual labor, and added time | Drone-mounted technology that does not require in-person site visits. |
| Current technology is lacking accuracy and results in costly change orders in the field, delays, and unnecessary disruption to existing underground infrastructure | Technologies that have the ability to provide a more accurate 3D map of subsurface structures, including more precise location. |
Known approaches not of interest
Procedural / management solutions are not of interest.
Key success criteria
Required:
- Demonstrated improvement over current state-of-the-art technology
- Ability to provide accurate readings across a wide range of subsurface materials (e.g., not constrained to ferrous materials only)
- Ability to provide accurate readings up to 15 ft of depth
Desired:
- Commercially deployable within 3 years
