15.01.2022
From Munich to Berlin in just under 30 minutes. The Hyperloop could turn this vision into reality, but when will the technology be ready and what are the risks?
It has been more than eight years since Elon Musk first shared his idea “Hyperloop Alpha”: a capsule that “glides” on air cushions in vacuum sealed tubes at speeds of 1,000 km/h and would soon replace flights and train journeys.
Even though the technology is still under development, some significant achievements have been made over the last few years. In November of 2020, the first manned test run took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the capsule reached a top speed of 172 km/h over a distance of 500 metres. Moreover, starting from 2024, the company Virgin Hyperloop is planning its first pilot projects, and the first commercially operated connections should be in place before the end of the decade.
How does Hyperloop work?
The Hyperloop system consists of sealed and partially evacuated tubes, connecting mobility hubs in large metropolitan areas, and pressurized vehicles, usually called pods, which can move at very high speeds, thanks to contactless levitation and propulsion systems as well as to the low aerodynamic drag ~ TUM Hyperloop
Who is currently developing hyperloop systems?
- Virgin Hyperloop One: The Virgin Hyperloop is the first implementation of Elon Musk's tube levitation concept, which has already completed a manned test. The company is part of billionaire business titan Richard Branson's Virgin Group
- TUM Hyperloop: In 2019 the Technical University of Munich, has launched the TUM Hyperloop program with the aim to design and build a full-scale ultra-high-speed transportation system
- HyperloopTT: Founded in 2013, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is one of the oldest companies trying to convert Elon Musk's Hyperloop concept into reality. The project relies on a crowdsourcing principle with over 800 researchers and experts across the world.
Numerous experts estimate that building such networks would cost billions of dollars, while the capsules can only carry comparatively few passengers. Numerous technical questions also remain unanswered. Last but not least, the many safety concerns arising from the enormously high speeds have not yet been resolved. Therefore, for the time being, companies are planning to transport goods rather than people with a Hyperloop system:
- In the Netherlands, the start-up Hardt proposed connecting the two cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam with a Hyperloop network on which goods, primarily food would be transported. The route would only be about 80 kilometres long, but it would still replace 80 per cent of the truck traffic on the route, reducing CO2 emissions and air pollution, according to the company. If the project proves successful in the Netherlands, the company wants to expand the project to other European regions.
- There is a similar project in Canada. There, the company Transpod has proposed to build a 300-kilometre-long Hyperloop line between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, primarily to transport goods.
- In July of 2021 HyperloopTT unveiled “HyperPort”, an autonomous, electric-powered cargo system which seeks to revolutionise the global freight industry
The Biggest Challenges
Developing a tube hundreds of kilometers long that runs at a near perfect vacuum which can support the force of pods weighing thousands of kilograms as they travel hundreds of kilometers an hour is nothing short of a sci-fi movie.
In the real world, there are too many influencing factors that cannot be accounted for with small scale design and experiments, such as:
- The cost of investment and maintenance are expected to be extremely high.
- A small defect or weakness in the structure of the tube would result in a catastrophic implosion. If the tube became punctured, external air would tear inside, ripping it apart as it rushes in to fill the void.
- High speed of capsule may cause dizziness due to intense vibrations.
- Temperature changes and the resulting thermal expansion would cause the Hyperloop tube to physically change its size and the respective effects can be quite dramatic.
One thing is for sure: Physical Laws are inevitable
Most engineering projects require compromises, especially Elon Musk’s. Without any doubt, the hyperloop is an incredible vision, but it’s far from being the world-changing idea it seemed to be in 2013. Even if the concept had numerous benefits over existing modes of transport, developers can’t afford to ignore the risks and costs which come with it.
Written by: Lorenzo Federici
Sources: https://virginhyperloop.com/- https://tumhyperloop.de/#home -https://www.hyperlooptt.com/ - https://hardt.global/ - https://www.transpod.com/fullscreen/company/