The Hyperloop research project, launched almost ten years ago, is progressing slowly. Among the companies working on the development of this technology, we find HyperloopTT. The latter recently presented HyperPort, a container transport concept as fast as an airplane.
Magnetic Levitation Containers
In 2013, Elon Musk launched the Hyperloop Industrial Research Project. In theory, it involves a double tube raised under low pressure, in which capsules move at more than 1,000 km/h via an electromagnetic levitation system. If in 2018 the French engineer François Lacôte described this technology as: “huge tech-intellectual scam”this does not prevent several companies from working on its development.
Among these companies, we have Virgin Hyperloop, TransPod and HyperloopTT, which were talked about recently. In a press release of 6 July 2021, accompanied by a presentation video (see end of article), the start-up describes a concept intended for the transport the freight : HyperPort.
This HyperPort concept was developed in collaboration with Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (Germany) and CT Ingenieros (Spain) and consists of floating magnetic levitation containers (Maglev). HyperloopTT also said it wants to shove these containers at very high speed (600 km/h) into tubes where friction and air resistance are lowest.
A project that is still in its infancy
« The Hyperport system is a plug’n’play solution for port operators, which can transport cargo in containers hundreds of kilometers in minutes. […] The system can move 2,800 equivalent units of twenty feet per day in a closed environment that eliminates crossover to increase worker reliability, efficiency and safety“, we can read in the publication of HyperloopTT.
If the numbers the start-up puts out seems crazy, then the concept still counts today more than 20,000 hours of study. However, we are still a long way from a real-world application. However, the concept can lead to significant savings in the long term, including in the version relating to passenger transport.
Finally, if the initial investment, which is currently lacking, is undoubtedly a major obstacle, the energy issue also arises. Indeed, these kinds of projects could not be 100% neutral from an environmental point of view, but the hope would lie in a green energy supply. In this case, this type of project can play a serious role against other types of transport, whose ecological impact is no longer a mystery.
