Launched almost a decade ago, the Hyperloop research project is progressing slowly. Among the companies working on the development of this technology, we find HyperloopTT. The latter recently introduced HyperPort, a concept for transporting containers as fast as an airplane.
Magnetic levitation containers
In 2013, Elon Musk launched the Hyperloop industrial research project. In theory, it is a question of a raised double tube and under low pressure in which the capsules move at more than 1000 km / h via an electromagnetic lift system. While in 2018, the French engineer François Lacôte described this technology as a “formidable technical-intellectual scam”, this does not prevent several companies from working on its development.
Among those companies we have Virgin Hyperloop, TransPod and HyperloopTT, the latter of which was recently in the spotlight. In a press release dated July 6, 2021 accompanied by a presentation video (see end of article), the start-up details a concept intended for freight transport: HyperPort.
Developed in partnership with Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (Germany) and CT Ingenieros (Spain), this HyperPort concept consists of levitating magnetic levitation containers (Maglev). HyperloopTT has also said it wants to slide these containers at very high speed (600 km / h) through tubes where friction and air resistance are at their lowest.
A project still in its infancy
“The Hyperport system is a plug’n’play solution for port operators, capable of transporting cargo in containers hundreds of kilometers in minutes. […] The system can move 2,800 twenty foot equivalents per day in a closed environment that eliminates any crossover to increase reliability, efficiency and personnel safety, ”the publication from HyperloopTT reads.
If the figures that the start-up puts forward seem crazy, the concept still counts more than 20,000 hours of study today. However, we are still very far from real world application. The concept could, however, lead to significant savings in the long term, even in its version relating to passenger transport.
Finally, if the initial investment, for the moment lacking, undoubtedly represents a major obstacle, the energy question also arises. Indeed, this kind of project could not be 100% neutral from an environmental point of view, but the hope would lie in a supply of green energy. In this case, this kind of project may have a serious card to play compared to other types of transport, the ecological impact of which is no longer a mystery.
