Work started this week at hyperTunnel’s newly opened testing facility, the hOLE (hyperTunnel Outdoor Learning Environment).
Located in the North Hampshire Downs on the site of a former oil well, the hOLE provides a fully-equipped and flexible space for hyperTunnel’s engineering team to conduct experiments and scaled concept testing.
The ground-penetrating radar (GPR) test suite allows for repeatable calibration and tuning of the test device and scanning from adjacent bores, while the planned on-site geolab will enable most material tests and analysis to take place in house.
“This is a big milestone,” said hyperTunnel Director and co-founder Steve Jordan. “We now have the capacity to do scale material tests with GPR and other down-hole tech as a precursor to testing our initial prototype.”
Site facilities at the hOLE also include office and meeting spaces, tools and materials stores, an aggregate hopper, power generation, temperature-controlled storage facilities, compressed air and a telehandler.
