This test facility is realized by the startup Hardt in a collaboration with the European construction company BAM. Hardt is the first European company focusing on the development of the hyperloop, in order to further develop the technology behind this high speed means of transport. The test facility concerns an elongated steel vacuum chamber with a total length of 30 meters and a diameter of almost 3 meters.
With this test facility, Hardt is going to test all critical systems at low speed in a vacuum, such as the hyperloop propulsion system, the levitation system and the safety systems. The transport via the hyperloop is fast, sustainable, safe and reliable. People and cargo are able to travel through very low pressure tubes with speeds up to 1,080 km/h. This mode of transport is more energy efficient when compared to planes and trains.
In order to stimulate the development of the hyperloop, Elon Musk’s SpaceX organised the ‘Hyperloop Pod Competition’. The founders of Hardt belong to the winning team of this international competition of which the final took place in Los Angeles at the start of 2017.
