Center for hyperloops in Veendam ready for first test drives

The test center for hyperloops in Veendam is ready for use. In a few weeks, the first vehicle will make a test drive on the 420-meter track, which consists of prefabricated steel tubes. The work has been going well since the first pipe was installed in September on the Husa logistics site on the outskirts of Groningen.

The test track of the European Hyperloop Center (EHC) cost approximately 7.5 million euros, with slightly more private than public money. The company, Hardt Hyperloop from Delft, has developed the floating capsule and the associated technology, which will be tested for the first time next month. The intention is for the vehicle to travel almost 100 kilometers in the airtight tube of approximately 2.5 meters wide.

For the time being, the tests are only intended to test techniques. No permit has yet been issued for transporting people, said EHC director Sascha Lamme. The Hyperloop Center would prefer to obtain this from the European Commission in Brussels so that the "tube mail for people" can eventually operate throughout Europe according to the same rules.

The idea is to whiz through the tubes virtually without air resistance in an electromagnetic vehicle. "This infrastructure allows us to prove the essential technologies," said Marinus van der Meijs, co-founder and director of technology and engineering at Hardt Hyperloop.

Ultimately, capsules measuring over 25 meters could carry 30 to 100 people through vast tube systems at a speed of 700 kilometers per hour. "The speed of an airplane with the convenience of a subway," claimed industrial designer Yorick Meijdam at Hardt Hyperloop. If the electricity is generated sustainably, it is a green mode of transportation. The infrastructure is expected to be cheaper to fit into the landscape than high-speed lines.

Other parties can also use the "most advanced hyperloop test facility" in the world. That includes a full runway interchange that initiators say has not yet been built anywhere else. For example, a Spanish company will test partial systems.

"This is a crucial moment in the development of the hyperloop," said EHC director Lamme. "It's great that this test facility has come to life in the province of Groningen with the help of all our partners." The track in Veendam will remain in operation for at least five years. "Then we'll see." He expects a 10,000-kilometer network of hyperloops to be established in Europe by 2050.