Development of the autonomous drilling robot Grabowski for shallow geothermal drilling to a depth of 300 m
Borobotics AG
Technoparkstrasse 2, CH-8406 WinterthurNew on Amplifa
About Borobotics
Borobotics is a Swiss technology company based in Winterthur that develops the drilling robot Grabowski for geothermal drilling. Grabowski is a 2.5 m long tube with a 135 mm diameter and weighing less than 150 kg, designed to replace conventional drilling rigs that are 6 m tall and weigh 10 t. The robot operates fully autonomously, steers itself downward in a straight trajectory, detects various soil layers and water veins, and seals the borehole automatically under artesian conditions. It is designed for all subsurfaces from sand to granite, to a depth of 300 m, and is compatible with common ground probes. Drive is purely electric via a power outlet instead of diesel-powered compressors, which reduces noise, CO2 emissions, space requirements and costs. Target markets are the ground-source heat pump industry in Switzerland and Germany; heat pump installations will be offered from 2027, according to the company.
- Site
- CH-8406 Winterthur
- Processes
- Geothermal drilling (shallow geothermal energy, autonomous drilling robot), Autonomous geothermal drilling with the drilling robot 'Grabowski' (up to 300 m depth, 135 mm, Drilling in confined spaces (6-8 m² space requirement), Electric operation instead of diesel
- Materials
- All-terrain drilling process
- Founded
- 2023-07-11
- Industries
- Geothermal energy / ground heat, Heat pumps (GSHP), Energy transition / renewable energies
- 01
Engineering & development of the drilling robot
- 02
Installation of the robot at the drilling site (by one person)
- 03
Autonomous drilling process with extrusion of a support pipe lining in loose
- 04
Borehole to a depth of 300 m for ground-probe heat pumps
Technology & Processes
All-terrain drilling process
Drilling in all soil layers from sand to granite, including detection of water veins.
Sites
Winterthur
CHHeadquarters, development
- Materials
- Soil: sand to granite
- Drilling robot Grabowski (2.5 m long, 135 mm diameter, <150 kg, 6–8 m² footprint)
Grabowski
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geothermal drilling (shallow geothermal energy, autonomous drilling robot)Engineering | – | 300 m (drilling depth) × 135 mm | – | – | Sand, Granite, various soil layers (all-terrain) |
1 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drilling robot (Bore-Robot) | Borobotics Grabowski | – | 2.5 m length, 135 mm diameter, <150 kg, 6-8 m² footprint | – | Winterthur |
Additional services
History
- 2017
Hans-Jörg Dennig begins developing the basic concepts of the drilling robot Grabowski
- 2021
Philipp Ganz joins the project and drives the technical development forward
- 2023
Moritz Pill completes the team; official founding of Borobotics on 11 July 2023
- 2024
Winner of a Grand Prize
- 2027
Planned installation of ground-source heat pump customers according to the website (Early 2027)