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Europe gets its first operational hyperloop tunnel

Dutch start-up Hardt showed off on Thursday Europe’s first fully operational hyperloop system in a 30-meters ‘low speed’ test tunnel in Delft. For the former students of TU Delft, this is a new milestone, six years after winning Elon Musk’s contest to materialize his idea for a new transport system in vacuum tubes. https://www.brusselstimes.com/all-news/business/technology/59825/europe-gets-its-first-operational-hyperloop-tunnel/

  • Chris R.
    By Chris R.

    It's a good start. Hardt Hyperloop gets one step closer to a viable, credible project.

  • Jørn Madsen
    By Jørn Madsen

    it's just another snake oil marketing if you ask me.

  • Ari G.J. van der Dijk
    By Ari G.J. van der Dijk

    Initiaters are not some smartass suits from a washing-powder marketing school but graduates of the world-renowned Delft Technical University.

    Moreover, they have actually come up with some technical innovations regarding track changes and tried them in a prototype.

    All said, it is very likely that this project is going to fail because it seems very much underfunded.

    Ultra-liberal Dutch government will not fund any commercial project. Thinking of Europe, Germany will not fund any such project with no industrial monopoly Siemens in it and France will not participate without its military-industrial complex getting a substantial "taste" of the action...

  • Chris R.
    By Chris R.

    Definitely agree with Ari. It is likely fail due to lack of funding more than anything else.

    Funding is the biggest problem in Europe for start-ups. Vernture-capitalists basically do not exist.

    Europe just don't have the atmosphere for the start-ups.

  • Michael C. Murray
    By Michael C. Murray

    the way it looks, hyperloop tubes will be mostly built overground. thus no tunnel construction...

  • Heiko vd Berg
    By Heiko vd Berg

    I would not call it "operational" unless it transports passengers or cargo. What is done is a testbed of a short tube.

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