Construction Hyperloop test track takes serious shape
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, conceived by Elon Musk, has announced a partnership with Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum and design, design, construction and financing company Aecom. Both companies provide their expertise in exchange for shares of Hyperloop.
The idea for the Hyperloop dates back to August 2013 and comes from inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk. The goal is now to have the first test version of about 5 miles in operation near Los Angeles by 2016.
The invention is a transport system that should connect cities in the medium distance. The system of tubes resembles the old-fashioned pneumatic post in combination with high-speed trains. The capsules are propelled electromagnetically in the tube. By drawing near vacuum to the tube and thus providing it with a very low air pressure of about 100 pascals, the energy required for propulsion is very low. This means that speeds of up to 1220 kilometers per hour can be achieved.
Elon Musk himself did not have time for the development and around the announcement of the idea in 2013, the JumpStartFund was also founded. This crowdsourcing fund is intended for ambitious projects. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies emerged from JumpStartFund.
With the new partners, the construction of a working test track in 2016 should become feasible. The Swiss Oerlikon is a well-known name in the world of companies that have made vacuuming their core business. The company also contributed to CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. Oerlikon’s head of development Carl Brockmeyer says on Wired that he doesn’t think there are many hurdles to overcome compared to technologies that are already out there. “It’s not a challenge from a technical point of view. We are used to much more difficult applications,” says Brockmeyer.
The energy to drive things and create a vacuum must come from the solar panels and wind turbines that HTT wants to build. Aecom will mainly help with the construction project itself in the Quay Valley between Los Angeles and San Francisco.