Hyperloop in talks with Gulf sovereigns
dubai — Maglev train developer Hyperloop Technologies said it’s in talks with sovereign wealth funds in the Arabian Gulf as it seeks to bring the super-fast transportation system to the region and raise $300 million from global investors over six months.
Hyperloop One, as the US startup is known, has seen growing interest in the maglev-like project from four of the six GCC states, chief executive officer Rob Lloyd said in an interview in Dubai, while declining to identify the countries or funds concerned.
“We have a vision for the region, which is the GCC as an entire economic bloc connected by Hyperloop,” Lloyd said.
“There’s a lot of work left in bringing that to fruition.” It’s not clear how the project would dovetail with well-advanced plans for a conventional rail network.
Hyperloop last October secured funding from Dubai-based DP World to study a high-speed link between the company’s Jebel Ali port and a new inland container depot, followed weeks later by an agreement to develop plans for cutting travel times between the emirate and Abu Dhabi to 12 minutes. The Los Angeles-based startup also said at the time that its technology could provide a 48-minute connection to the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.
Lloyd said the Gulf is “potentially one of the best places” to introduce Hyperloop, envisaged by billionaire Elon Musk as a virtually friction-free travel system in an airless tube, and that he’s currently spending three out of every four weeks in the region, with a subsidiary to be established in the UAE later this year.
Hyperloop promoted its plans in India last week and also sees opportunities in Australia, Canada and parts of northern Europe, the CEO said.
The company is planning a conference in Washington next month to bring its ideas for US infrastructure to the attention of congressmen, senators and the Trump administration, he said.
Hyperloop is studying the first leg of the network, which may span a 30km (19 miles) to 70km route, Lloyd said in a Bloomberg TV interview. — Bloomberg