The United States Department of Energy (DoE) has selected a dozen projects across 11 states for $34 million in funding offered for the development of cable undergrounding solutions as part of efforts to improve the resilience of the country’s electricity system.

A press release said that the U.S. electric power distribution system—which has more than 5.5 million line-miles and some 180 million power poles—is too susceptible to damage by weather and its effects. DoE will fund projects that can further the deployment of “undergrounding” power lines.

One of the selected company projects chosen for funding is GE Vernova Advanced Research. Its project is to develop a “robotic worm tunneling construction tool that would dig and install conduit and cables for underground distribution powerlines in a single step. “GE’s system would mimic the natural movement of earthworms and tree roots to install 1,000 feet of cable and conduit in two hours with unmatched flexibility. The tool could deploy from a standard pickup truck and would eliminate the cost, complexity, and surface disruption compared with conventional approaches.”

In Idaho, Melni Technologies was selected for its work on “medium-voltage power cable splice kits that could be installed in 10-15 minutes, which is three-four times faster than conventional kits and would reduce failures and mistakes up to 90 percent by eliminating installation steps and potential human errors.”

In Kentucky, Prysmian Cables and Systems USA is seeking to come up with “a hands-free power cable splicing machine operating in underground vaults to reduce the share of splicing-caused medium-voltage network failures from 60-80 percent to less than 5 percent and dramatically improve the workforce safety by reducing the time the underground cable splicing crews spend in underground vaults.”