Startup Develops Grid Tech to Prevent Wildfires

Witching Hour uses Innovation Crossroads program to advance powerline insulation technology at Oak Ridge National Lab

Jan. 28, 2026 at 9:07pm

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Witching Hour, a startup in the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Lab, is developing technology to reduce wildfire risk by retrofitting powerlines with insulation in fire-prone areas. The company's robots can apply a special coating to overhead wires while they remain live, providing a faster and more affordable approach to grid hardening compared to current mitigation methods like undergrounding powerlines.

Why it matters

Wildfires have caused billions in damage across the U.S. in recent years, with overhead power lines often sparking these devastating blazes. Witching Hour's technology offers a solution to improve grid reliability and protect communities from wildfire threats.

The details

Witching Hour's approach involves using robots deployed by drones to apply a special coating to powerlines, insulating them and preventing sparks that could ignite wildfires. This can be done while the lines remain live, making it a faster and more affordable option than current mitigation methods like undergrounding powerlines, which can cost millions per mile.

  • In 2025, wildfires across the United States cost hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.
  • Witching Hour was part of Cohort 2025 of the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Lab.

The players

Witching Hour

A hard tech startup and member of Cohort 2025 of Innovation Crossroads, developing technology to reduce wildfire risk by retrofitting powerlines with insulation.

Lance Adler

The founder of Witching Hour, who previously worked as an engineering contractor with utility company PG&E and is now developing wildfire prevention technology.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

The site of the Powerline Conductor Accelerated Testing Facility, one of the only facilities in the country where companies can test new transmission line technologies.

Innovation Crossroads

A Department of Energy Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node at ORNL, designed to position hard tech entrepreneurs like Adler for success.

Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB)

A local utility company that has enabled Witching Hour to use its facilities to complete critical testing and provide feedback on the company's ideas.

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What they’re saying

“I wanted to do something that could help people. Overhead wires, which are often uninsulated, are a huge fire risk when they touch vegetation or foreign objects. If we could cover the wire and insulate it more efficiently, we can solve this problem for utility companies and local communities.”

— Lance Adler, Founder, Witching Hour (Mirage News)

“Knoxville is the best place to build Witching Hour. I could immediately plug into the community and make the connections that I needed. I have access to local utility companies like the Knoxville Utilities Board, who have enabled us to use their facilities to complete critical testing and who can give feedback on our ideas, making this iterative process quicker.”

— Lance Adler, Founder, Witching Hour (Mirage News)

“Access to Oak Ridge is critical to further develop our existing technology. I don't think there's anything that ORNL can't do in the powerline or power testing space, so it's a great place to look at how can we expand what we're offering to the market. Access to resources like the Powerline Conductor Accelerated Testing Facility will enable us to do the kind of technology development that we can't do anywhere else or work on anywhere else.”

— Lance Adler, Founder, Witching Hour (Mirage News)

What’s next

Witching Hour is preparing for its first commercial deployment of its powerline insulation technology on the West Coast.

The takeaway

Witching Hour's innovative approach to wildfire prevention, developed through the support of the Innovation Crossroads program and resources at Oak Ridge National Lab, could provide a scalable and cost-effective solution to protect communities from the growing threat of devastating wildfires.