A New Zero-Emission Hyperloop Port Offers Ground Transport at ‘Airplane Speeds’

The much-hyped hyperloop is one step closer to becoming a reality with the announcement of HyperloopTT’s HyperPort concept.

HyperloopTT (the letters stand for Transportation Technologies) announced this week that its HyperPort, developed in partnership with terminal operator Hamburg Hafen und Logistik AG, is going into certification design review.

The HyperPort is a “sustainable high-speed cargo and freight solution capable of increasing capacity and efficiency while decreasing pollution and congestion at ports worldwide,” a press statement from the company reveals. 

The long-term goal of both companies is to disrupt the logistics industry global logistics industry, which is estimated to grow to $12 trillion by 2023, according to a report by Freight Waves.

In the short term, the companies are developing a VR demonstrator that will be presented at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg later this year from October 11-15.

While none of this will show much in the way of tangible progress when it comes to HyperloopTT’s capsule transport system, it does provide a glimpse as to how the hyperloop could disrupt entire industries.

‘Airplane speeds at freight costs’

The HyperPort system will allow port operators to transport cargo containers hundreds of kilometers in mere minutes. It will be capable of sustainably moving 2,800 containers per day at speeds of up 600 km/h (327 mph), meaning the HyperPort enables “airplane speeds at freight costs,” HyperloopTT says in its press release.

The HyperPort freight capsule was designed by Madrid-based Mormedi, with a view to disrupting cargo transport using hyperloop technology. HyperloopTT says that “HyperPort capsule, infrastructure, and system components are [currently] undergoing optimization in preparation for commercial deployment.”

One of the many benefits of the Hyperloop, according to Hyperloop TT’s founder, is that it can free up seaside real estate that would otherwise be used for shipping ports.

“Using the same underlying technology as our passenger systems, the HyperPort can future-proof supply chains while returning valuable seaside real estate back to surrounding communities,” said Andres De Leon, CEO of HyperloopTT.

The HyperPort concept would be built inland and would connect to roads in order to move cargo from the hyperloop port to the city, much in the same vein as rail freight cargo.

Back in 2018, HyperloopTT unveiled Quintero One, the first full-scale passenger hyperloop capsule, five years after the company was founded in 2013.

The hyperloop was inspired by Robert H. Goddard’s vactrain concept in 1904, though the recent race to commercialize high-speed pod transportation was kickstarted by Elon Musk when he shared his thoughts on creating a “fifth mode of transport” called hyperloop at a conference in California in 2012.

Take a look at HyperloopTT’s video showing off its HyperPort concept below.