The Gulf is likely to among the first regions in the world to adopt Hyperloop technology with the first passengers set to be transported as early as 2030.
Josh Giegel, the co-founder of Virgin Hyperloop and chief technology officer, told Arabian Business that the company is targeting certification by 2025 with the first passenger services potentially starting five years later.
Interest in the DP World backed Virgin Hyperloop has been accelerating since the first passenger test in November 2020, he said, adding that he has been receiving a lot of inquiries regarding “when it will be ready and when mass adoption will take place.”
Giegel, pictured below, who was one of the first two passengers to test the Hyperloop, said: “We are targeting certification by 2025. We think there are some opportunities for cargo to be operating sooner and then we can get into the passenger space pretty quickly thereafter, potentially beginning 2030.”
Speaking ahead of his address in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week last week, Giegel said the GCC will likely be among the first regions to adopt the Hyperloop, given its commitment to innovation.
“The 20th century in the GCC was powered by oil and the 21st century could be powered by ideas, innovations and technology. The region provides this opportunity to do it first because there is none of this legacy infrastructure so there is a desire to do something new and be the leaders of what is next. There is also leadership in place that will be around to see those longer-term visions to come to pass,” explained Giegel.
“All this is very exciting and I think there is a very good chance for the first couple of projects to be in the Middle East as we go forward,” he added.
Using only the abundant desert sunshine through which the Hyperloop is solar-powered, the GCC could move 50 million passengers a year “without burning any oil or gas but instead a clean and renewable energy source”, said Giegel.
Using the Hyperloop, all countries in the GCC would be an average of an hour’s travel time away from Riyadh, he added.
On Wednesday, Virgin Hyperloop unveiled its vision through a video and a passenger experience page on its website. The newly-released concept video takes the viewer step-by-step through a hyperloop journey, from arriving at the portal to boarding the pod.
Virgin has previously said that the ground-breaking technology will be capable of transporting close to 45 million passengers per year in the region at speeds of over 1,000km/h with zero direct emissions, using solar panels which cover the tube.
Once brought into regular use, the pods will be able to transport up to 28 people at a time, Virgin said, with larger models for moving goods also in development.
Virgin Hyperloop’s clean energy solution supports the goals of the UAE’s federal Energy Strategy 2050 to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2050 and reduce carbon footprint of power generation by 70 percent, saving AED700 billion ($191bn) by 2050.
In October, Virgin Hyperloop announced the results of a strategic study commissioned to build the world’s first extended test and certification hyperloop track in Saudi Arabia.
The Virgin Hyperloop Centre of Excellence (CoE), if approved, could create more than 124,000 high-tech local jobs and drive a $4bn increase in Saudi GDP by 2030, according to the study.
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