Pipelines still play a crucial role in the sustainable development and expansion of networks for reliable energy supply, in alignment with the energy transition and the integration of renewable energy sources and future technologies. Consequently, the construction and adaptation of pipeline infrastructure will be essential, e.g. for hydrogen, to use its potential as a clean energy carrier. Safe and efficient installation technologies are required for the crossing of traffic ways or rivers and for long-distance cross-country sections. Furthermore, the integration of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) terminals as a bridging technology require landfall solutions in sensitive coastal areas.

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is still a preferred option in the drilling industry, as it is an economic and industry-proven technology. Nevertheless, HDD is not applicable in highly permeable or non-stable ground. Today, slurry microtunnelling methods like pipe jacking, Direct Pipe and E-Power Pipe cover all application fields, ground conditions and respective pipe materials and diameters. They use a slurry microtunnel boring machine (MTBM), so-called AVN, for excavation. A thrust unit on the launch side pushes the product pipe or temporary jacking pipe forward. Continuous face and borehole support in slurry microtunnelling methods emerges as the key advantage over HDD.

In recent years, the well-known pipe jacking with concrete pipes has made considerable progress for long drives and large diameters, with numerous reference projects for pipeline crossings and landfalls. Direct Pipe enables single-pass steel pipeline installations for crossings and landfalls down to 24” in diameter. E-Power Pipe uses a slurry MTBM with jet pump and presents a trenchless option for cable protective pipes and pipelines from 10” to 28”, using temporary jacking pipes with subsequent pull-in of the product pipe. This presentation provides an overview over the versatile applications of slurry microtunnelling and HDD in the pipeline industry, illustrated by selected reference projects.