Zurich/Dübendorf ZH/Bastrop – Swissloop Tunneling has won the Not-a-Boring Competition 2024 in Texas and the Champion Award. The team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich is supported by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research.
Swissloop Tunneling has won the third edition of the Not-a-Boring Competition in Bastrop, Texas. The competition was initiated by Elon Musk and is organized by his The Boring Company. His aim is to build efficient tunnel infrastructure, including for Musk's Hyperloop high-speed transportation system. To achieve this, innovative solutions must first be developed to increase the speed of the tunnel boring machines and reduce construction costs.
Swissloop Tunneling won the Innovation Award in 2021 and 2023 and took 2nd place overall. According to a press release, the team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) won the competition and the Champion Award for the first time this year. In addition to Swissloop Tunneling, two teams from the USA and one each from the UK and Bangladesh made it to the final. The Swiss project has been supported by industry partners for years. The workshop and test site in Dübendorf are provided by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology(Empa).
In the Groundhog Beta tunnel boring machine, which was newly developed after the first participation, the overall system and the subsystems of the first machine were decisively redesigned. The liner mechanism has also been redeveloped. As the machine moves forward, it simultaneously produces the wall inside the drilled tunnel.
"We are particularly proud to have achieved this result thanks to the challenges we successfully overcame and the great commitment of all our members," says team leader Eugenio Valli. Swissloop Tunneling will continue the project. The next competition will take place in spring 2025. ce/mm