The hyperloop project is moving forward. Work to create a technical center and a test track dedicated to the subsonic Hyperloop train began this week in Droux, a town of 400 inhabitants in Haute-Vienne. The first land clearing work will be followed by earthworks and the installation of the tubes by a subsidiary of Veolia, for an inauguration of the center in September 2022, announced Sébastien Gendron, CEO of the Canadian company TransPod, who this week detailed his project to elected officials.
A first phase at 21 million euros
“After conclusive laboratory tests, it will allow us to validate the technology in real conditions. The land is ideal with a capacity of extension over 3 km on the site of an old railway line, ”he said. The principle of the Hyperloop, this ultra-fast train, is to circulate pressurized capsules, or “pod”, in low pressure tubes to overcome aerodynamic friction and brush against the sound barrier.
This concept was launched in 2013 by billionaire Elon Musk, but other start-ups have entered the breach, such as Virgin Hyperloop or the American Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT or HTT). In France, the first phase of the project, valued at 7.5 million euros out of a total cost of 21 million, will create a building of 500 m² and a runway 300 to 800 meters long. Twenty-two jobs will be created in Droux and Limoges.
A demonstrator in preparation
At the same time, the company is currently creating a demonstrator to communicate on the technical aspects of the Hyperloop. “We are in the process of building a 300 kg vehicle four to six meters long at a scale of 1/3 compared to the final vehicle,” says the CEO. “It will allow us to explain how levitation, propulsion and power transmission work. An event broadcast worldwide will take place at the end of March 2022 from Toronto and, subsequently, in France, ”he added. The idea is to silence the many skeptics. “It is characteristic of innovation. If we get there, it will still have been a real crusade, ”says the CEO.
After receiving aid from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (2 million euros) and the Puglia region in Italy (6 million) in research and development, TransPod announced that it had received “an offer of 500 million US dollars” , he says, of an English investment fund for the creation of an infrastructure in Alberta in Canada, to connect Calgary and Edmonton on 350 km. In France, the Canadian company is interested in two corridors, one connecting Paris to Le Havre and the other Paris to Toulouse with possible stops at Orléans and Limoges.
It remains to be seen whether the private actors, the main investors, will be joined by the public actors for this type of project. “We would like more ambitious public policies,” says Sébastien Gendron.