The Challenge
The demand for transportation of both passengers and cargo is expected to triple by 2050 as a result of global urbanization, economic growth, and population growth. At the same time, this growth in demand for transportation is antithetical to transportation becoming more sustainable. We need smarter, more environmentally friendly, and more flexible transport that meets the needs of modern travelers and transporters.
Hyperloop, with its relatively low implementation and operating costs, zero emissions, easy integration into the environment, short transport times, and high transport capacity, ticks all the boxes for future-proof transportation infrastructure.
It is important that, while the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak are being experienced, investments are made in knowledge development and innovative technologies that create economic opportunities from societal challenges.
The program originated from dialogues between an initial group of industry partners involved in early hyperloop developments and the Dutch ministries of Economic Affairs & Climate and Infrastructure & Water management. This leads to the willingness of public and private parties to jointly invest in the development of hyperloop integrally in an open ecosystem.
According to the World Economic Forum, Hyperloop is one of 20 key markets of tomorrow. Hyperloop could offer potential benefits across multiple dimensions: by helping to increase well-being and empower people, advance human knowledge and understanding and protect the environment.
25% of the global CO2 emissions are produced by transport. Unless immediate measures are taken, these will grow by another 60% by 2050.
According to the European Commission, an estimated €1,500 billion needs to be invested in the comprehensive European transport infrastructure during the next decade. In selecting the projects for these investments, short-term congestion relief needs to be carefully weighed against the long-term sustainable opportunities that new solutions could bring, as the consequences of these investments last a lifetime.