Future Development of Underground Applications

Utilisation of the underground has not reached yet its peak in diversity and complexity, but in general been attractive for developers of road-, railway- and metro projects. Understanding of rock mechanics, engineering geology and geology can be utilised to give underground applications a wider perspective than until now. This paper focuses on challenges ahead; where does the tunnelling industry go with respect to utilising the underground? The easy tunnelling and underground projects are done, the industry faces projects in the future that request high confidence and understanding of the properties and capacities held by the rock mass. These capacities need to be engaged to solve the requirements to future underground applications. There is a shortage of energy worldwide. Future energy development has to include underground facility to a much larger extent than today. This paper will touch base on the utilisation of future applications of the underground use and discuss certain and a selected number of utilisations, this may not necessarily be limited to energy development but could also be other kinds of utilisations that can be considered somehow out of the box. The main message is: In the future development of our societies, the use of the underground will see a much wider variety of applications, and thus the tunnelling industry must prepare for this development. What is known already is that; utilising the underground provides a solution that; is safe from external load and sabotage, is safe from earthquakes, is safe from climate change impacts like flooding and wood fires, is safe from natural catastrophes like tsunami. But these solutions may come with a high cost ratio which the industry needs to deal with and there is an uncertainty related to public consensus. In addition, the future will request even higher concerns on reduced emissions and increased focus on sustainability. The paper consists of my personal views after almost 40 years in the tunnelling industry. All views presented herein are based on this experience base and represent the way I foresee that the tunnelling industry and competence within this industry can contribute to reach the UN global sustainability goals, to reach the desperate battle against global warming and not least to reduce the consequences on third parties resulting from dissension that the global community faces from time to time, nowadays the conflict in Ukraine. Going underground provides solutions for social security, urbanisation and emission reduction and realise satisfaction of many UN-sustainability goals.