Transporting containers at high speed through a tube to and from the Port of Hamburg – that is the joint vision of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and the US-based research and development company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), HHLA said in a press release.
Both companies want to work together on making this idea a reality and have established a joint venture to achieve this. The collaboration was announced in Hamburg on Wednesday, 5 December 2018 by Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA’s Executive Board, and Dirk Ahlborn, founder and CEO of HTT, at a joint event.
The goal of the joint venture is to develop and later market a Hyperloop transport system for shipping containers. Initially, the construction of a transfer station for testing purposes at a HHLA terminal in Hamburg and the development of a transport capsule for standard shipping containers are planned.
Behind the concept of the Hyperloop is the idea of transporting people and goods at high speed through a tube. With the help of magnetic levitation technology, the transport capsules used in the system will be sent through a tunnel, in which there is a partial air vacuum, at speeds reaching or even exceeding 1000 km/h. A test track for transporting people and goods is currently under construction in Toulouse, France. The first test journeys in Europe are set to take place here next year.