SmartSoils®

With the SmartSoils® initiative, Deltares aims to modify the physical and mechanical properties of soil by influencing and speeding up the natural processes that in principle cause these changes.

The microbiology, geochemistry and knowledge of micro- and nano structures play an important role in controlling the process. SmartSoils ® represents a paradigmatic change in geo-engineering due to the view that soil can now be made to order.

The SmartSoils® techniques approach civil engineering problems in an innovative way. They offer the opportunity to build on locations where this was previously not possible due to a poor or unpredictable subsoil. SmartSoils® intergrates knowledge from several disciplines, among which are biotechnology (microbiology), geotechnics, nanotechnology. Innovation is coming about more rapidly because these disciplines complete each other.

In the future, it will also be possible to build using less space or to construct larger, heavier structures on soft soil. SmartSoils® can even be used to improve the properties of a problem-soil such as peat over time. These methods can no doubt also be applied to difficult oil- and gas production projects: unstable drilling holes and sand-producing wells will no longer form an obstacle to profitable production.