Dutch railway NS invests €300,000 into Delft Hyperloop project

The TU Delft students who recently won a SpaceX Hyperloop competition in the United States with their Hyperloop design and prototype, are continuing their work as startup company Hardt. Dutch railway company NS and investment fund Uniq decided to give the group financial support by each investing 300 thousand euros into the startup, RTL Nieuws reports.

NS wants to use the techniques Hardt develops to be as energy efficient as possible, a spokesperson said to RTL. "As a major consumer of electricity, anything that can help us drive trains more efficiently is pure profit", the spokesperson said.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs also promised the young technicians help in expanding their network.

Hardt aims to develop a working Hyperloop vehicle and full scale test track within four years, team captain Tim Houter said to the broadcaster. "Our ambition is to lay down a first high-speed system in probably the next ten years."

In a Hyperloop system capsules are moved through a vacuum tube at high speeds using magnets. The Hyperloop is still in the early stages of development, though it is believed that ultimately speeds of about 1,200 kilometers per hour can be reached.