Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, provided a first look of their full-scale passenger Hyperloop capsule today at an unveiling ceremony in Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain.
The event was also held to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the founding of HyperloopTT and showcased the company’s progress since it was established as the first Hyperloop company in the world.
The capsule, “Quintero One” is constructed almost completely out of HyperloopTT’s Vibranium, a specially made dual-layer smart composite material. It was built at the Southern Spain aerospace facilities of HyperloopTT’s partner Airtificial, a new company formed by the merger of composite expert Carbures and engineering company Inypsa that manufactures for many leading companies including Airbus and Boeing. The design for the capsule was created in collaboration with world renowned transport design consultancy PriestmanGoode and won the Gold award at the 2017 London Design Awards
Quintero One measures 32 metres and weighs 5 tons. It has 72 sensors and will be delivered to HyperloopTT’s research and development centre in Toulouse, France for additional assembly and integration into the system, before it is used on one of the first commercial tracks, according to the company.
“Working together with engineers from HyperloopTT, we are proud to be pushing the envelope of smart materials in transportation and manufacturing,” said Airtificial Co-Founder and Chairman, Rafael Contreras. “Today we have unveiled a new type of transportation vessel built with an industry high percentage of composite, which makes the Hyperloop capsule perhaps the safest transportation vehicle in the world.”
“The creation of this capsule represents over a year long journey of the best expertise in design, engineering, and the development of cutting edge materials,” said Dirk Ahlborn HyperloopTT co-founder and CEO. “In just five years we have solved and improved upon all of the technology needed for Hyperloop with our new levitation system, vacuum pumps, batteries, and smart composites. This capsule will be a part of one of the most efficient transportation systems ever made.”
In April this year, HyperloopTT signed an agreement to start construction of a Hyperloop system as well as HyperloopTT’s XO Square Innovation Centre, and a Hyperloop Visitor Center at the Seih Al Sdeirah landbank in Abu Dhabi.
The proposed construction site is located on the border of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, close to the Expo 2020 site and Al Maktoum International Airport, however, any further development of the HyperloopTT system is subject to careful study and extensive regulatory review and approval.
“In 2019, this capsule will be fully optimised and ready for passengers,” said Bibop Gresta, chairman and co-founder of HyperloopTT. “Since we have taken major steps in solving government regulations with our safety certification guidelines and insurance frameworks, we are now closer than ever to bringing Hyperloop to the world.”
