Young hyperloop makers to demonstrate prototypes in Hilversum today

Dozens of student teams from all over the world will meet on Saturday in Hilversum to demonstrate their prototypes for a hyperloop. The teams will race the model versions of their vision for the future of transport on a test track at the business premises of Voestalpine, a company which specializes in rail infrastructure. The Dutch team, Delft Hyperloop, will show off the Helios I, the pod they developed that floats under the track due to electromagnetism.

Hyperloops are a type of pneumatic tube that can theoretically be used to move people or goods. The idea is to have special capsules, called pods, move at similar speeds as an airplane while passing through tubes in a near-vacuum. If brought into practice, passengers could potentially travel from Amsterdam to Paris in half an hour. The concept systems are fully electric, with no direct emissions, like carbon dioxide.

"The biggest plus is the efficiency,” 23-year-old Gijs Roodenburg of the Delft student team previously explained to ANP. "Because there is no air or rolling resistance, you need far less energy than if you were to build an electric plane, for example." Incidentally, the students' prototypes do not yet traverse through vacuum tubes, and they are not nearly as fast as intended. It's more about the learning process, they said.

The demonstrations are the highlight of the European Hyperloop Week, which is being held for the second time. With this competition, the universities involved want to encourage the development of the means of transport. Participants include teams from Norway, Switzerland, Spain, India, the United States and the United Kingdom.

A jury of experts with a background in technology and design will evaluate the designs, and hand out various awards to the teams. The awards will be presented on Sunday evening on the Markt in Delft.