Compact geothermal drill completes first commercial borehole job for low-carbon heat

A geothermal drilling rig just finished working on one of the least forgiving places for heavy equipment, a live construction site in downtown Boston. Dig Energy completed its first paid commercial installation at 100MAG, Suffolk’s AI and innovation hub near the construction firm’s headquarters. The Massachusetts startup used its compact drilling platform to install geothermal heating and cooling infrastructure for the building. The drilling operation started in early August and finished in about two weeks. Workers carried out the work while construction continued around them, giving Dig a real test of its approach in a crowded commercial setting. Geothermal drilling gets smaller Geothermal heating and cooling has relied on mature technology for decades. The difficult part has often been getting the drilling done without driving up project costs. Traditional drilling equipment can demand substantial space and labor. That creates a particular problem on urban construction sites, where available space can be scarce. Dig built its drilling system around those constraints. The company says its rig needs only a fraction of the footprint and crew used by conventional drilling equipment. At 100MAG, the active drilling area occupied only a few parking spaces at any given time. That allowed the geothermal work to fit into an operating construction site without taking over a large section of the property. “Suffolk has led some of the most complex and sophisticated construction projects in the country,” said Dulcie Madden, co-founder and CEO of Dig Energy. Madden said the 100MAG site tested the technology under tight spatial constraints and a demanding schedule. She added that Dig’s equipment could integrate into Suffolk’s construction workflow. That matters because geothermal projects can require drilling before a building can use the system. A smaller drilling platform could make that step easier to accommodate alongside other construction activity. Suffolk puts system to work The installation also gives Suffolk a chance to judge geothermal technology through an actual project rather than a demonstration. Suffolk Technologies, the construction firm’s venture arm, invested in Dig through its BOOST 6 accelerator. The program brings emerging construction technologies onto Suffolk projects for real-world deployment. Parker Mundt, a partner at Suffolk Technologies, said the project showed how Dig’s compact platform could reduce the cost and complexity of geothermal installations. Suffolk now has direct experience with the drilling process at a commercial property. That experience could help the contractor assess geothermal systems for future projects across its portfolio. The opportunity extends beyond conventional office construction. Suffolk works with customers investing in geothermal and on-site energy infrastructure, including education facilities and data centers. Dig plans to put its drilling system through several more New England projects in the coming months. The planned sites include a grocery store, a utility headquarters and a small campus. Those deployments will put the compact rig against different site conditions and building requirements. They could also show whether the space and labor savings seen at 100MAG hold up across a wider range of commercial projects.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Aamir is a seasoned tech journalist with experience at Exhibit Magazine, Republic World, and PR Newswire. With a deep love for all things tech and science, he has spent years decoding the latest innovations and exploring how they shape industries, lifestyles, and the future of humanity.