The Biden Administration has signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a wide-sweeping bill that will allow the U.S. to invest in bridges, freeways and other means of transportation including the proposed hyperloop.
The bill will allow hyperloop companies to access federal government programs and funding that other transportation modes and organizations already have access to. However, this bill places a greater emphasis on the need to develop sustainable transportation infrastructure.
Hyperloop technology uses magnetic levitation to lift a pod off the track and guide it as it moves, creating a friction-free track. Almost all the air in the tube surrounding the pod is removed to create the same environment found at 200,000 ft above sea level. The combination of the linear motor, magnetic levitation and low-pressure tube reduces drag so that only a small amount of electricity is needed to propel the pod at speeds as high as 670 mph. This could possibly create a more cost-effective system than high-speed rail or airline transportation.
(Learn more about magnets on Globalspec.com.)
The technology is not only ultra-fast but is reportedly energy-efficient and completely CO2 neutral. This combination is one of the reasons the hyperloop has gained attention in the transportation market as countries look for new ways to meet carbon footprint requirements while providing new ways of traveling for consumers.
"Building our hyperloop system in the U.S. just got a lot easier," said Andres De Leon, CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT). "I'd like to thank our teams and the members of Congress, the White House, and our industry partners who have worked alongside us to prove to even the most skeptical that hyperloop is the clear choice for jobs, the economy and the environment. With this bill, HyperloopTT and our technology arrive on equal footing with traditional transportation."
HyperloopTT is one of the vendors working on the so-called fifth mode of transportation along with Virgin Hyperloop and other international vendors that are developing the technology for their own regions.
