HyperloopTT and HHLA present HyperPort at ITS World Congress

The US research and development company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) and Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) will present a virtual reality demonstrator at the ITS World Congress. This will serve as a model for the transport of containers in seaport-hinterland traffic using Hyperloop technology. The technical concept behind the idea was developed by the companies over the past two and a half years. The goal is to increase the capacity and efficiency of container terminals while reducing the environmental footprint and congestion at ports worldwide.

HyperloopTT and HHLA entered into a cooperative agreement at the end of 2018. Their first step was to develop a design study based on their technical concept for the HyperPortTM. The next step is a construction-based virtual reality demonstrator to be presented exclusively at the ITS World Congress, the world’s largest mobility trade fair. The Congress will take place in Hamburg from 11 to 15 October 2021.

HyperPortTM was developed based on current industry standards and is a plug-and-play solution for port operators. The concept makes it possible to transport containerised goods at high speed over hundreds of kilometres. The system can reliably, efficiently and safely move up to 2,800 containers a day in a closed operating environment, without traffic or environmental influences. The individual HyperPortTM transport capsules provide room for two 20-foot or one 40- or 45-foot standard or high cube container.

The transport capsules, designed by the award-winning Spanish industrial design company Mormedi, provide an impression of the innovative logistics system. The technology was developed in cooperation with the Spanish engineering firm CT Ingenieros and is already construction-ready. More than 20,000 hours of work were put into the concept, on designs, analytical models, calculations, trade-off studies, 3D visualisations, optimisations of the overall design and integration capabilities. The HyperPortTM capsule, the infrastructure and the system components are currently being further optimised.

“Using the same underlying technology as our passenger systems, the HyperPort can future-proof supply chains and simultaneously relieve the burden on port regions,” said Andres De Leon, CEO of HyperloopTT. “Our work with world-leading firms to move this technology forward is a significant revenue opportunity for port operators all around the world.”

“At HHLA, we know that to prepare for the future you must innovate,” said Gerlinde John, Project Manager HyperPortTM at HHLA. “The Hyperloop technology is suitable of taking the transport of goods to a new level. With the HyperPort concept, we are developing an alternative solution to existing transport systems for the goods transport of the future in a fast-growing global market.”