Discover the new Dutch hyperloop test center, which aims to revolutionize European transport of the future

This article was originally published in English

While critics say it’s a very ambitious example, hyperloop advocates believe it could become a mainstay of future travel.

A 420-metre-long white steel tube running along a railway line in the windy north of the Netherlands could herald a new era in the transport of people and goods.

This tube forms the heart of the new European center, Hyperloop, which opened on Tuesday, and will serve as a testing ground for developers of this evolving technology in the coming years.

The Hyperloop, once touted by technology magnate Elon Musk, consists of capsules that float on magnetic fields and speed through low-pressure tubes at speeds of about 700 km/h.

According to its supporters, it is much more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed trains and trucks.

But since Elon Musk unveiled the concept that he said could transport passengers the roughly 400 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes, the project has evolved at a much slower pace, from the skateboard to drawing in the real world .

“I think by 2030 you will have the first hyperloop route, maybe 5 km, where people will actually carry passengers“, says director of the center, Sascha Lamme.

“In fact, preparations for such routes are already underway, for example in Italy or India.”

Not everyone is so optimistic about the future of the Hyperloop.

Pursuing a shiny object

“This is yet another example of policymakers chasing a shiny object when basic infrastructure investments are needed.”said Robert Noland, professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, in comments sent to the Associated Press.

“Construction costs are too high”he says.

Sascha Lamme answers that skeptics should come and see for themselves.

“We built the European Hyperloop Center and because of what we built we know we can be competitive with high-speed rail”he assures.

“And we haven’t even taken into account all the cost optimizations we can make over the next ten years to reduce those costs even further.”

The tube at the test center in the Netherlands consists of 34 separate parts, most with a diameter of 2.5 meters. A vacuum pump in a steel container next to the pipe draws in air to reduce internal pressure. This reduces drag and allows the capsules to travel at such high speeds.

A test capsule built by Hardt Hyperloopthe Dutch hyperloop pioneer, will take part next month in the first tests of the centre, which is funded by private investment and contributions from the Dutch provincial government, the Dutch national government and the European Commission.

The tube highway

The Veendam tube has the peculiarity of being equipped with a switch, which allows it to be divided into two separate tubes, an infrastructure element that will be essential for real applications.

“Lane changing is very important for the hyperloop as it allows vehicles to travel from any origin to any destination”says Marinus van der Meijs, director of technology and engineering at Hardt.

“This creates a network effect where you have a kind of tube highway and vehicles can take an on and off ramp or change lanes to go to another part of Europe or to another destination.

As testing continues in Veendam, hyperloop developers hope that destinations for their technology are on the horizon.

“The main challenge is to find government commitments to build roads and on the other hand find new funding to run the testing facilities and technology demonstrations needed to make this possible”assures Sascha Lamme.