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A
hyperloop would whisk passengers and cargo in pods through a low
pressure tube at speeds of up to 750 miles per hour (1,207 km
per hour).
Maglev technology would levitate the pods to reduce friction in
the city-to-city system, which would be fully autonomous and
electric powered.
Hyperloop One builds off a design by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon
Musk, who has suggested it would be cheaper, faster and more
efficient than high speed rail projects, including the one
currently being built in California.
Speaking on the eve of the first demonstration test of the
propulsion in the Las Vegas desert, Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd
tried to dispel criticism that the technology is unproven and
better suited for science fiction than practical use.
"It's real, it's happening now, and we're going to demonstrate
how this company is making it happen," he said at a press
conference.
He likened hyperloop technology to the emergence of the U.S.
railroad system and the era of prosperity it ushered in.
Lloyd also announced a competition to determine where the first
Hyperloop One system should be built, with an announcement
expected next year.
Early applications could center around ports – possibly
replacing the trucks and trains that carry cargo from ships to
factories and stores.
Executives in Hyperloop One, formerly known as Hyperloop
Technologies, include Shervin Pishevar, a venture capitalist
well known for his investments in innovative companies like Uber
and Airbnb, and Brogan BamBrogan, a former SpaceX engineer.
New investors include 137 Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Fast
Digital, Western Technology Investment (WTI), SNCF, the French
National Rail Company, a force behind high speed rail in Europe,
and GE Ventures.
BamBrogan said the company's engineering team is focused on
finding efficiencies to reduce the cost of building a hyperloop.
"We want to deliver all the value that hyperloop can deliver -
the safe, the efficient, the on demand, the fast. But, we want
to deliver it at a cost basis that is absolutely
transformative," he said.
Hyperloop One has competition in the space, including Hyperloop
Transportation Technologies, a crowdsourced company that last
month signed an agreement with the Slovakian government to build
a hyperloop connecting Slovenia with Austria and Hungary.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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