Hyperloop venture to move cargo at jet speed unveiled in Dubai
DP World teams up with Branson to launch ultra-fast freight service
Ahigh profile delegation convened onboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 yesterday to announce the launch of DP World Cargospeed, a joint-venture that plans to bring hyperloop technology to the shipping industry.
The delegation included His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, billionaire Richard Branson, and DP World chairman Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem.
The new freight service will be powered by Virgin Hyperloop One’s hyperloop technology, transporting cargo at up to 1,200 km/h. No routes have been announced yet. Hyperloop is a futuristic mode of tube-based transport, resembling a train but travelling at the speed of a jet aircraft.
Branson, who previously founded Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Mobile and is now chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, accompanied the company’s executive management team to a number of meetings in Dubai yesterday, including with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and a meeting with Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.
A senior executive at the hyperloop company told Gulf News that a concrete arrangement with the RTA to determine a route for passenger transport was expected in the coming weeks.
In his remarks to the gathered media, Branson said that “Dubai is at the cutting edge of everything. I like being at the cutting edge, too.”
DP World, the Dubaibased ports operator, said yesterday that it would formally partner with Virgin Hyperloop One to build ultra high speed cargo delivery systems around the world.
DP World is already the largest investor in Virgin Hyperloop One, occupying two board seats and participating in the USbased company’s latest $50 million (Dh183.65 million) funding round.
The newly branded company, named DP World Cargospeed, will design a hyperloop system to deliver freight from point to point.
Hyperloop is a futuristic mode of tube-based transport, resembling a train but travelling at the speed of a jet aircraft.
Operational by 2025
According to Virgin Hyperloop One, the cargo routes will be developed in tandem with its passenger routes, meaning that the first working system will be operational by 2025 at the earliest. The only difference will be the pod, which will be customised to accommodate pallets, instead of people.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the launch.
He was joined by billionaire Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur who is chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, and Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, chairman and CEO of DP World.
Branson accompanied the executive management team to a number of meetings in Dubai on Sunday, including with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and a meeting with Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports.
A senior Virgin Hyperloop One executive told Gulf News that an concrete arrangement with the RTA to determine a route for passenger transport was expected in the coming weeks.
The team is due in Abu Dhabi today to meet with officials there.
In his opening remarks at the announcement, Bin Sulayem said: ”It’s our pleasure to announce that DP World will work together with Virgin Hyperloop One to transport cargo around the world at jet speeds, for the cost of trucking.”
Branson, for his part, said that he liked being involved in cutting edge things, and “Dubai is at the cutting edge of everything.”
Details were scant at the glamorous announcement, however, with no actual routes confirmed.
“We see interest around the region, and the world,” said Rob Lloyd, chief executive of Virgin Hyperloop One.
The company has to date raised almost $300 million in funding.
Lloyd told Gulf News in a February interview that the UAE was among the most likely country to be selected for the first fully-fledged passenger hyperloop transportation system, despite the company agreeing to build the first test route in India earlier this year.
Lloyd’s top executive in the region, Harj Dhaliwal, managing director for the Middle East and India, confirmed that this was still the case in an interview with Gulf News on the sidelines of Sunday’s event.
“It’s absolutely still a frontrunner, as far as we’re concerned,” Dhaliwal said.
“We had extremely positive meetings with the RTA today, talking about scoping out Phase Two, and within the next few weeks we expect to come to a concrete arrangement,” he added.
Phase Two refers to the next level of detail for the still untested technology, including a specific route, and a more thorough feasibility study.