You have probably witnessed this scene waiting in line at a supermarket: a cashier takes a big wad of bills and puts them in a plastic capsule. Curious, you have followed the fate of the bills with your eyes, which are already inside a tube. The cashier closes the opening and, without blinking, presses a red button. Before you know it, the capsule shoots up the tube and disappears from the scene.
If you have ever wondered if you could travel like this yourself, you are in luck. Thousands of engineers around the world are working to enable you to travel hundreds of kilometers in vacuum tubes. If it becomes a reality, you would be able to reach a speed of 1000 km/h, traveling from Madrid to Barcelona in half an hour. And all this with electric power and in a more environmentally friendly way than current alternatives. We introduce you to what will be the new means of transportation: welcome to the hyperloop era.
Hyperloop is being designed to become the the world’s least polluting method of large-scale, high-speed transportation. It may be considered to have a greater visual impact than other modes of transportation, however, its design would allow for reduced noise, operational and maintenance costs, and dependence on weather conditions.
Traditional transportation systems are becoming increasingly polluting and are reaching saturation, confirming the need for a new method of fast, emission-free transportation. Given current pollution levels and governments’ commitment to the SDGs, the hyperloop is intended to be powered by renewable energies such as photovoltaics.
HyperloopTT released the Great Lakes Hyperloop Feasibility Study, which details the economic and technical feasibility of its Hyperloop. The study states that the passenger and freight market will generate sufficient revenue to cover all capital and operating costs with an economic return of 11.8% nominal.
Virgin Hyperloop successfully launched a two-seater prototype that was powered by two employees. The Hyperloop traveled 500 meters and reached 172 kilometers per hour in 6.25 seconds. The company says it conducted more than 500 tests in Las Vegas and recently posted a new explainer video on Twitter.
They are planning routes in Dubai, India (between Mumbai and Pune) and in the United States, North Carolina and Texas.
Virgin Hyperloop One and DP World partnered to create DP World Cargospeed Systems with a focus on transporting “urgent, high-priority goods such as medical and electronic supplies.”
The company participated in the development of the European Hyperloop Center (EHC) in 2020, an innovation center opened in Groningen – The Netherlands. The EHC plans to open a 2.7 km long test track with a loading scale tube suitable for speeds up to 700 km/h in 2023 to test Hyperloop technologies.
Nevomo takes a three-step approach:
A passive maglev train running on existing train tracks at speeds of up to 415 km/h. This hybrid solution allows both magrail and conventional trains on the same track.
Conversion of this train into a vacuum system called “Hyperrail” with a maximum speed of 600 km/h on existing tracks.
Creation of new tracks for Hyperloop so that its vehicles can travel at up to 1,200 km/h.
Unlike a traditional hyperloop, the TransPod system uses moving electromagnetic fields to propel the stably levitating pods from the ground surface instead of compressed air. The technology is in the pod and not in the infrastructure.
The startup is currently collaborating with leading companies such as Altran, research centers such as the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPM), and is backed by Silicon Valley investors Plug and Play Tech Center, Climate-KIC, the leading European climate change initiative, and Angels, the investment fund of businessman Juan Roig. It has also joined the acceleration program of Trenlab, the accelerator promoted by Renfe and Wayra, after a call that has had more than 240 registered companies.
Engineering is the tool we humans have to make the most amazing dreams come true. Only it will tell when and how this project can be materialized in a tool that brings us closer to each other, in a more sustainable and efficient way.
The full importance of an epoch-making idea is often not perceived in the generation in which it is made. – Alfred Marshall
The blog of Logistics at MGEPS at UPV 