Imagine waking up for work in sunny Miami. You get dressed, eat breakfast, and board the train for your commute. You read the morning paper on the smooth ride. Then, you step out onto the platform in New York City to start the workday. That uber-fast train is the Hyperloop, an idea coined by Elon Musk. It’s a sustainable tube train that travels 800 mph but generates more energy than it consumes. The only catch is that it’s not a common reality yet. Developers around the world are racing to make the idea come to life. One of these companies is Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT). Their CEO, Andres De Leòn, chats with Bold TV about how this technology works and when we can expect to use it in everyday life.
How does the Hyperloop work?
One of the great challenges of our lifetime is figuring out how to travel sustainably. This is one goal of Hyperloop developers. And they’ve created some revolutionary ideas! The Hyperloop will be a tube with a low-pressure environment. Because of the vacuum, the train won’t create friction. So, it should require very low energy to move. On top of that, the tube will have solar panels. Because of the solar energy, the train generates between 5 and 15 percent more energy than it consumes. This makes the Hyperloop an energy-efficient travel alternative.
A grounded alternative to airplanes
The idea of the Hyperloop is to provide a more sustainable and seamless alternative to flying. We all have airport horror stories, whether it be security nightmares or delay madness. And for some people, simply flying in the air is terrifying. But the Hyperloop travels at a similar speed to airplanes while being on land. De Leòn says people could travel from Madrid to Barcelona in half an hour. Or they could zoom from Cleveland to Chicago in 45 minutes. While speed is important, HyperloopTT wants to drastically improve the travel experience. One of their main goals is for their transportation to be seamless. They’re already working on a prototype and getting approved in several different countries. What do you think? Is Hyperloop the future of transportation?