GRID OVERHAUL WITH PROACTIVE, HIGH-SPEED UNDERGROUNDING FOR RELIABILITY, RESILIENCE, AND SECURITY (GOPHURRS) | DE FOA 0003047

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0003047

The Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) funding opportunity DE-FOA-0003047, titled Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-Speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security (GOPHURRS), is aimed at dramatically changing how medium-voltage (MV) electricity distribution lines are placed underground in urban and suburban settings. The program is built around a practical problem: underground distribution lines can greatly improve reliability and reduce outage impacts, but today they are often too expensive, too slow to install, and too disruptive to communities to be a realistic default option. ARPA-E is looking for high-risk, high-reward applied research and development that could create a step-change in undergrounding methods and costs, rather than incremental improvements to conventional trenching.

At the center of GOPHURRS is a clear performance and cost target: technologies that can cut the cost of undergrounding distribution grids by at least 50 percent, while also reducing the time and cost of underground installation by a factor of two compared with traditional trenching-based approaches. The focus is specifically on medium-voltage distribution infrastructure in roughly the 5 to 46 kV range, including primary feeders and laterals, because that is where many customer-facing reliability problems originate and where undergrounding can directly reduce outages caused by storms, vegetation, vehicle contact, and other overhead-line hazards.

The opportunity frames the need using common reliability metrics. In the U.S., System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) and System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) are cited as being on the order of 5 to 8 hours and about 1.5 interruptions per customer, respectively, with an estimated economic cost of around $79 billion per year to electricity consumers. While undergrounding is known to improve reliability compared with overhead systems, the FOA emphasizes that distribution undergrounding can cost five to ten times more than overhead construction, which is the main barrier to broader adoption. Beyond cost, ARPA-E highlights serious practical drawbacks of current undergrounding practices: the risk of striking other buried utilities, worker hazards associated with manhole and confined-space operations, and major surface disruption that can lead to traffic detours and broader community safety impacts.

To overcome these barriers, GOPHURRS is explicitly trying to shift the undergrounding paradigm from "digging to drilling." In other words, ARPA-E is interested in trenchless or near-trenchless approaches that leave the surface largely intact while still enabling fast, accurate installation of conduits and cables. The technical vision includes autonomous or highly automated subsurface drilling that can follow intended routes, install conduit concurrently, and operate at high speed. A key enabling theme is the ability to detect and avoid hidden underground obstacles in real time, such as existing buried infrastructure and geologic anomalies, using advanced look-ahead sensing and guidance systems. The idea is to reduce surprises, prevent damage, and eliminate common sources of delay and cost overruns that are typical in urban underground construction.

The FOA also calls out life-cycle reliability, not just construction speed. Cable joints are noted as frequent failure points in underground systems, so the program seeks improved cable joint designs and installation systems that reduce the likelihood of early failures and lower long-term maintenance and replacement costs. Taken together, the program is aiming for an integrated step forward: faster construction, lower capital cost, fewer safety hazards for workers and the public, reduced surface disruption, and improved long-term performance of underground MV distribution networks.

From an applicant and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is run through ARPA-E and uses ARPA-E's standard mechanisms and expectations for transformational technology development under its statutory authority. The FOA is open to a wide range of applicant types (listed as "Unrestricted," subject to any clarifications in the FOA), reflecting ARPA-E's typical interest in assembling teams that may include utilities, engineering and construction technology companies, equipment manufacturers, universities, national labs, and other organizations capable of building and validating prototypes. The funding instrument types include cooperative agreements, grants, and other assistance instruments. The listing indicates an award ceiling of $10,000,000 per award and an expectation of around 14 awards, suggesting ARPA-E intends to build a portfolio of diverse technical approaches rather than back a single solution.

Key dates in the provided listing show a creation date of March 30, 2023 and an original closing date of May 9, 2023. Applications are submitted through the ARPA-E eXCHANGE system only, with applicants required to register and follow the eXCHANGE submission process. The FOA notes that ARPA-E will not review or consider concept papers submitted through other means, and it provides points of contact for technical help with the portal (ExchangeHelp@hq.doe.gov) and for FOA questions (ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov), along with a reference to ARPA-E's FAQ page.

In practical terms, GOPHURRS is a grid modernization and resilience funding call focused on making undergrounding of MV distribution lines cheaper, faster, safer, and less disruptive, primarily by enabling automated trenchless installation and improved obstacle detection, while also improving long-term system reliability through better cable jointing and installation practices. The broader goal is to make undergrounding a viable, scalable investment option for utilities and communities that need better reliability and resilience without the high cost and disruption that usually come with burying power lines today.

• The Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "GRID OVERHAUL WITH PROACTIVE, HIGH-SPEED UNDERGROUNDING FOR RELIABILITY, RESILIENCE, AND SECURITY (GOPHURRS)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.135.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 30, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 09, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 14 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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