Original press release was published at PR Newswire.
There is no shortage of research teams and start-ups that are heavily involved in Hyperloop, the concept of engineer and business magnate Elon Musk. The project is set on connecting Bratislava and Vienna via a tube, transporting passengers on the 70km track in eight minutes. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. (HTT) is one of the companies that is developing on Musk’s concept and they have just made a compelling announcement. They will be coating their passenger capsule in a newly developed advanced smart material going by the highly inspired name – Vibranium.
Made of sensor-embedded carbon fiber, this new smart material is eight times stronger than aluminum and 10 times stronger than steel alternatives, and transmits critical information regarding temperature, stability, integrity and more, wirelessly and instantly. It is also much lighter in weight—roughly five times less than steel and 1.5 times less than aluminum—reducing energy output required to propel the capsule.
Vibranium was developed by HTT’s Slovak collaborator C2i, a company that intelligently engineers carbon-fiber structures for next-generation cars and aircrafts. “With HTT and other Slovakian scientists we helped develop Vibranium, a new smart material, which is the perfect solution to build a safe system,” said C2i founder Patrick Hesel.
“Safety is one of the most important aspects of our system,” said Dirk Ahlborn CEO of Jumpstartfund and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. “We are 10 times safer than an airplane. Our collaboration with Slovakia and their technical skills in new materials, automotive and production processes have made this technology possible.”
Two more Slovak companies are involved in building the Hyperloop connection between Slovakia’s Bratislava and Austria’s Vienna according to TREND: RVmagnetics have equipped Vibranium with tens of thousands of sensors that will monitor the internal structure of the material, while TÜV SÜD will provide HTT with inspection and certification services.
D. Ahlborn and HTT’s COO Bibop Gresta have also announced that they the will soon begin the construction of an 8km Hyperloop prototype in California’s Quay Valley, and are now only waiting for the building permit.
Everything Hyperloop sounds like science fiction, and this proposed fifth mode of transportation is most likely still more than a few years away, but it is clear as day that more and more engineers and investors are committing to make it a reality. At the very least, Slovakia has been put on the map as the real world Wakanda.
A couple of you understood that reference.
