Delft Hyperloop: ‘We still want to be the manufacturer of the pod’ - voestalpine Track Solutions Netherlands B.V.

30 June 2020 |

With a great deal of enthusiasm, the new Hyperloop team was introduced this year on social media. The team was ready to go! A new year with new opportunities. Unfortunately, Elon Musk’s Space X changed the Hyperloop team’s plans. He launched his Crew Dragon the end of May, which is headed for the International Space Station (ISS). The result: no Hyperloop contest in the summer of 2020. Does this make 2020 a lost year for the team?

Successful fresh start

On Saturday, May 30, the Hyperloop 2020 Team (DH04) visited our premises in Hilversum for a first test. Last year, we installed a long test track (380m) in collaboration with ProRail and Strukton Rail Nederland. The team used the Atlas03 pod of last year’s team (DH03) to execute the test. Because that pod’s electronics were not sufficiently adjusted yet, there were several malfunctions. The test was particularly important for this year’s pod, the Atlas04. And in spite of the technical problems, it was a big success.

Almost 200 km/h

Over a track length of 180 meters, the pod managed to attain a speed of 191 km/h, with a braking distance of 11 meters. The students were ecstatic about these results. Now, they could fine tune the electronics of the Atlas04. Although 191 km/h is impressive, the team wants more. Their aim: breaking the Delft Hyperloop record of 202 km/h on our lengthy test track in Hilversum.

An eventful year but ‘very cool to do this project’

Romée Postma, this year’s Public Relations manager, revealed that 2020 has not been easy for the team. It started with Space X regulations not being passed on. Then, out of the blue, the contest for this Summer was cancelled. To top it off, a worldwide pandemic spread, which made it impossible for the team to work together in the same building. However, this did not discourage the team from continuing to work even harder, sometimes day and night.

“We still want to be the manufacturer of the pod, and that’s why we have set ourselves a new goal: breaking our own record to show that we are technologically capable of pulling it off. We have not been sitting still. We improved our design and made it faster. It is a cool experience to realize a project like this together with 33 fellow-students.”

It’s now or never: DH04 versus DH03

The Hyperloop contest is organized by Space X, Elon Musk’s space travel company. It is joined by teams from all over the world, hoping that their pod will achieve the best results. The cancellation of the 2020 Space X competition does not mean that the contest is cancelled. We will host the contest on our premises in Hilversum. Since the Atlas04 is expected to be completed at the end of June, the final test will take place in July. Will the DH04 outperform the DH03, which reached a speed of 202 km/h in Los Angeles?

For more updates, keep an eye on our social media channels: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.