Petra has built the first remote controlled trenchless multi-tool capable of boring utility tunnels in all geologies, at a variety of diameters, providing the cheapest, fastest, and greenest tunneling service in the utility construction market.
Our Petra Ai1 Platform is a single tool that can address all geologies, at a range of diameters. Because of our flexible design, we're able to provide a vastly simpler, more mobilizable and cheaper service to general contractors and project owners.
Because we can bore through all geologies, our goal is to eliminate change orders. This can only be achieved because of our our innovation: one machine to rule them all.
Petra's semi-autonomous non-contact tunneling robot utilizes a thermal drilling method that minimizes surface disruption while dramatically lowering the cost of boring hard rock. Petra's hard rock module is inserted into the Petra Platform to bore the hardest geologies - like 44,000 PSI Sioux Quartzite - faster and more reliably than conventional methods. When combined with the other modules in the Petra Platform, we can uniquely excavate all geologies, even the most difficult ones.
We started Petra to protect communities from the effects of a changing climate. While it's not always possible to deliver clean energy to the most remote parts of the world, we wanted to design a trenchless system that had the flexibility to be powered by either clean energy or conventional diesel.
- 6/7 modules can be powered electrically
- Petra's hard rock module uses Propel clean diesel, yielding 66% reduction in GHG emissions
- Petra's hard rock module focuses nearly all thermal energy for boring, and is therefore highly fuel efficient. It is remotely operated from a control panel hundreds of feet away.
When boring through hard geologies, Petra outperforms other methods, especially in hard abrasive rock.
When conventional machines encounter difficult geologies, expensive "change orders" ensue. Petra's systems shine when boring through difficult geologies and can up to 90% cheaper in the grounds no one else likes.
Delivering overall lower projects costs.
No change orders because we can get through all geologies.
Unlike other conventional systems, there are no emissions in the pit. Ever. In fact, the Petra Platform is the first hybrid-powered multi-tool on the market.
Instead of taking hours-to-days to swap in, it takes Petra as little as 15 minutes.
Petra Platform is modular by design and has five modules, each of which replace an entire trenchless machine.
The entire system ships in a 40-ft container and its footprint is small enough to be deployed on small streets.
Petra's simplified and integrated piloting module can ensure millimeter accuracy when installing pipeline.
The Petra Platform has multiple industry leading safety features like anti-rollover protection and safe muck-handling.
Our footprint is smaller than conventional machines leading to smaller shafts, and greater cost savings.
System is fully sealed and water-tight with an out-of-pit power pack.
The Petra Platform fits within a proprietary containerized workstation to easily mobilize and increase productivity.
Safety is in our DNA. We know that crews are the most important asset on the job and so everything we build is designed to put safety first. From anti-rollover protection to safe muck-handling to emission-less pits (so crews don't get headaches) to remote out-of-pit steering, the Petra Platform is the safest trenchless robot on the job site.
Today, MIT Technology Review unveiled its annual list of 35 innovators under 35, highlighting the remarkable talents shaping our future. Among this year's honorees is Shivani Torres, my cofounder, and Petra’s Chief Product Officer at Petra. I couldn’t be more proud and honored to build this company with Shivani. Because of her, Petra is transforming the way we underground utilities. Together, we're achieving our goal of making communities resilient by lowering the cost of undergrounding.
This blog post introduces the Petra Platform, the worlds first all-in-one trenchless solution capable of boring through all geologies using multiple boring modules using green power. This modular, flexible system revolutionizes underground utility construction, offering six unique modules for various ground conditions.
Trenchless technology and tunneling technology are often used interchangeably, but they have very different applications and require different construction technologies. We describe these differences between trenchless and tunneling in this post.
