Even though she is excited about hyperloop, she’s also realistic about the situation. There are currently no federal standards for some- thing like hyperloop, and putting them together will take time. Once they are in place, they will affect the entire industry. “Standards will dictate the cost,” Walsh said. “The higher the quality, the higher the cost, and it will determine who wants to invest in the program.” The good news is that talk of standards is al- ready well under way. On Jan. 7, representatives from state DOTs in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois, and Missouri met in Washington, D.C., to discuss implementation of hyperloop technology, Walsh said. Specifically, the group convened to begin discussions regarding how hyperloop corridor approvals could be advanced in preparation for integrating this mode into the nation’s transportation system. Topics of discussion included feasibility study scopes, regulation and policy standards, federal oversight, and standard messaging to the pub- lic about what the technology entails and how the different states are collaborating to ensure consistency in standards, Walsh said. The group agreed to continue the discussion and will strive to meet at least once more in 2018. On Jan. 9, Walsh’s agency organized a visit for central Ohio and southwestern Pennsylvania leaders to tour the Virgin Hyperloop One test site in Nevada. The group got a closer look at the technology, the physical infrastructure, and met with the scientists and engineers working to develop it, Walsh said. “Until we’re moving people and freight on this corridor in a new way, we’ll be talking about [hyperloop],” Walsh said. “And then we’ll be talking about maintaining it. It will continue to be in the conversation.” In mid-February, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) moved the conversation to northern Ohio when it announced agreements with the North Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to begin a feasibility study for the Great Lakes region, starting with a Cleveland-to-Chicago route.
Rob Lloyd, CEO, Virgin Hyperloop One
Headquarters: Founded: Noteworthy: Key board members: Key partners: Website:
Los Angeles 2014 Long-range MAGLEV transportation Nevada test run of 240 mph; $295 million in total funding Sir Richard Branson, His Excellency Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem Parsons, ARUP https://hyperloop-one.com
Brogan Bambrogan, co-founder and CEO, Arrivo
Headquarters: Founded: Noteworthy: Key members: Key partners: Website:
Los Angeles 2017
A high-speed super urban network Set to build test track east of Denver Nima Bahrami, Jadon Smith, Knut Sauer, Andrew Liu, William Mulholland, David Pendergast Colorado Department of Transportation, AECOM www.arrivo-loop.com
Dirk Ahlborn, co-founder and CEO, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies
Los Angeles 2013 A global network of crowd-sourced talent Innovation center in Toulouse, France Co-founder Bibop Gresta, Andres de Leon Abu Dhabi Department of Transportation, Brno, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic www.hyperloop.global
Headquarters: Founded: Noteworthy: Key board members: Key partners: Website:
Elon Musk, founder, The Boring Company
Headquarters: Founded: Noteworthy: Key member: Key partner: Website:
Los Angeles 2016 Low-cost tunnels and high-speed underground transport Proposed tunnels in metro Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to Baltimore Elon Musk City of Los Angeles www.boringcompany.com
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april 2018
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