Virgin
Hyperloop One has announced a development partnership with Saudi Arabia's Economic City Authority (ECA) to conduct a study to build the world's longest test and certification
hyperloop track.
The project, which would include a 35-km test and certification track, will create opportunities for the development of specific
hyperloop technologies and develop local expertise in Saudi Arabia which be commercialised and scaled, said the statement from Virgin
Hyperloop One.
The XP-1 pod completed the world's first full-system
hyperloop test in May 2017 - what Virgin
Hyperloop calls its 'Kitty Hawk' moment after the town where the Wright brothers made the first controlled powered airplane flights.
On May 11, 2017, XP-1 completed the world's first full-system
hyperloop test -- what VHO calls its "Kitty Hawk" moment.
Dubai-held DP World will invest $500m in private capital for Phase 1 of the Pune-Mumbai route, which Virgin
Hyperloop One said would "certify this new technology for passenger operations, establishing India as the epicentre of
hyperloop innovation without using public funds".
"The student
hyperloop team stopped by our Los Angeles headquarters to learn more about our progress in India.
The deal was announced during a visit by a senior ECA delegation to Virgin
Hyperloop One's Los Angeles headquarters.
The project, which will include a research center and a
hyperloop manufacturing facility, will be in partnership with the Kingdom's Economic City Authority (ECA).
A number of private companies are working on the technology - including Richard Branson's Virgin
Hyperloop One, which aims to provide a fully operational
Hyperloop system by 2021.
The real
Hyperloop will be powered by magnets, but so far it has made its way through the world propelled by hot air.