One of the competing companies planning to deliver the superfast Hyperloop transportation system has announced that it has signed an agreement to conduct feasibility studies for a system that would link the cities of Chicago and Cleveland in the United States.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies said that it has signed official agreements with the North Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and Illinois’ Department of Transportation (IDOT) to identify potential corridors of travel and the company said that it will hold an event at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland next week where plans for the system will be discussed.

“Regulations are the ultimate barrier for Hyperloop implementation, and we are excited to build the first real public-private partnership to bring Hyperloop travel to the US,” Dirk Ahlborn, the co-founder of HTT said in a press statement announcing the agreement.

“We came here because places like Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh have the manufacturing, the raw materials and the talented, hard working people in order to make it happen,” the company's chief global operations officer, Andrea La Mendola added.

Hyperloop is a transportation concept that involves firing capsules containing people or cargo through a sealed tube system that operates in a vacuum, reducing friction, theoretically allowing for speeds of up to 1,200 kilometres per hour to be achieved.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is already conducting a feasibility study for a route between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain after an agreement was signed with the emirate's Department for Municipal Affairs and Transport (DMAT) in December 2016. In a statement announcing that study, the acting executive director of Land Transport for DMAT, Eng. Khalid Mohamed Hashim, said that the technology could cut the travel time between the two cities down to "about eight to 12 minutes".

An earlier agreement was also signed between the firm and the Slovakian government in March 2016 to undertake a study connecting its capital, Bratislava, with Vienna in Austria and Budapest in Hungary.

Hyperloop TT was founded in 2013 by Dirk Ahlborn and chairman Bibop Gresta. According to its press release, the company has a team of more than 800 engineers.

Its main competitor, Virgin Hyperloop One, is attempting to build a similar system and has received several rounds of funding from Dubai-based ports operator DP World. It has been working with DP World on a study to see how Hyperloop could be deployed at the latter's flagship Jebel Ali port.

Hyperloop One has also signed a separate agreement to carry out an evaluation study for Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority.

Further reading:

(Writing by Michael Fahy; Editing by Shane McGinley)

(michael.fahy@thomsonreuters.com)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles


Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.

© ZAWYA 2018