The development of sufficient pipeline capacity and the construction of a sustainable power grid are the challenges for future energy supply. Due to the public environmental awareness, smart trenchless installation methods are required for fast and safe installation of pipelines and underground cables, with minimal impact on the surroundings. For crossing obstacles along the routes, Horizontal Directional Drilling is still the preferred option, as it is an economic and industry-proven technology. In recent years, features like the jet pump, weeper subs and tooling concepts have been developed to increase safety and application range in HDD. An all-electric HDD Rig system is a further indispensable step towards energy transition, making green energies usable in the drilling industry, while reducing emissions to a minimum.

Trenchless technologies like Direct Pipe and E-Power Pipe show their strengths on long drives in small diameters and in permeable ground, where HDD reaches its limits.

Constantly enlarging the possibilities of those methods, e.g. with the jet pump technology, which is successfully integrated into Slurry MTBMs (AVNS), bringing the range of Direct Pipe down to 24” for longer distances of over 1.000m. E-Power Pipe uses the AVNS and presents a trenchless option for the two-stage installation of HDPE pipes or small-diameter pipelines from 10” to 28”.

Today, trenchless technologies cover the entire geological spectrum, with high flexibility in terms of diameters, drive lengths and depths of the network sections to be installed. Contractors have to equip themselves with the latest technologies and equipment to be able to cover the large range of project conditions. This paper presents and compares different projects and trenchless methods (E-HDD, E-Power Pipe, Direct Pipe), all serving the same purpose – installing underground lines to ensure our future energy supply. It will help to understand the up- and downsides of each technology.