Terraforming Robots: A Founder’s Plan to Stop Urban Flooding
▼ Summary
– Parts of San Rafael, California are sinking up to half an inch annually, with some neighborhoods having subsided three feet and facing increased flooding risk from sea-level rise.
– A startup called Terranova proposes raising sinking land using robots that inject wood waste slurry underground as a cheaper alternative to seawalls.
– Terranova’s approach uses inexpensive wood waste material and autonomous robotic injectors managed by proprietary software to lift land at a fraction of traditional costs.
– The company recently raised $7 million in seed funding and has quoted $92 million to lift 240 acres in San Rafael, compared to $500-900 million for seawalls.
– Terranova aims to address urban flooding threats globally and plans to expand beyond cities to wetland remediation while generating revenue through project partnerships.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the city of San Rafael faces a quiet but relentless crisis as certain neighborhoods gradually sink into the earth. The Canal District, bordering the bay, has already subsided by three feet, leaving it dangerously exposed to flooding from rising sea levels. This troubling trend is not unique to California; globally, hundreds of millions of people live in coastal zones threatened by encroaching oceans, with staggering financial estimates for conventional flood defenses like seawalls running into the hundreds of billions.
Rather than fighting the water with barriers, a startup named Terranova proposes an elegant reversal: lift the land itself. The company has engineered specialized robots designed to inject a slurry made from wood waste deep underground, slowly elevating terrain to counteract historical sinking and reduce flood vulnerability.
Laurence Allen, Terranova’s co-founder and CEO, explains the local stakes. “The canal district is really far under sea level,” he notes. Traditional engineering studies pointed toward massive seawall projects costing between $500 million and $900 million, a price tag far beyond the reach of a community where many residents live in poverty. In contrast, Terranova has quoted approximately $92 million to raise 240 acres by four feet, presenting a dramatically more affordable alternative.
The company recently secured $7 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round, led by Congruent Ventures and Outlander, with participation from several other venture firms. This investment values the young company at $25.1 million.
While the concept of ground injection for land lifting is not new, Terranova’s innovation lies in its cost-saving methods and materials. The primary ingredient is wood waste, an inexpensive and readily available resource, blended with proprietary components to form a pumpable slurry. This mixture is delivered using autonomous, tracked robotic units that drill wells and inject the material 40 to 60 feet below the surface. As long as the slurry remains saturated, the wood resists decay, and the company can generate and sell carbon credits to further offset project expenses.
A sophisticated software platform underpins the entire operation. By integrating public geographic data with subsurface core samples, many originally drilled for water well construction, Terranova has built a detailed underground model. A genetic algorithm then determines optimal injection patterns. City planners and contractors can interact with a SimCity-like digital tool to sculpt the terrain virtually before any physical work begins.
Once plans are set, the robotic injectors execute the lifting process with precision, guided by software that specifies injection locations and volumes. Human supervisors remain on-site to ensure safety. After injection, the slurry consolidates over roughly two hours, gradually raising the ground level.
Terranova has been testing both its robotic hardware and control software at a pilot location for more than a year. Although some engineering experts have raised concerns about whether the wood-slurry fill could amplify seismic shaking during earthquakes, Allen argues that all flood-mitigation options carry certain risks. He believes their approach offers advantages over traditional dikes and seawalls.
The company intends to generate revenue through profit-sharing arrangements with local contractors. Its long-term vision extends beyond urban centers to include restoring disappearing wetlands affected by subsidence or sea-level rise. But with coastal flooding becoming increasingly urgent, cities remain the primary focus. For Allen, a San Rafael native, the mission is also personal. “I really want to save the city,” he says.
(Source: TechCrunch)
