Introduction to Hyperloop

Technology
Janne Ruponen
Things to discuss
• Technical description of Hyperloop
• Benefits of Hyperloop
• Problems of Hyperloop
• Current developers
• Current projects
Innovations in transportation
• ”Just consider that of all the means of transportation that have been
designed in the past three thousand years or more since the attack
weapons of the Hyksos and the drawings of Hero of Alexandria,
individual transportation today is limited to bicycle and cars (and a
few variants in between the two).” - N.N. Taleb
• Smartest transportation systems in the world are those that require
the least resources
Greenhouse gas emissions by segments
Hyperloop energy consumption
Developers
Share of fundings by competitors Reputation in Crunchbase Rank

Hyperloop One HTT TransPod

Hyperloop One HTT TransPod
Arrivo Hyperloop Data Transonic Transportation
Arrivo Hyperloop Data Transonic Transportation
Texas Guadaloop DGWHyperloop
Texas Guadaloop DGWHyperloop
Future predictions
• Forbes (Oct 25, 2016):
“Hyperloop One’s own projections suggest the loops will be highly lucrative once operational. The company
pegs the total addressable market for the combined passenger and freight business at $4.7 trillion in 2020, and
rising to $9.3 trillion by 2040. Were Hyperloop One and partners to capture 10% of their serviceable opportunity
(the portion of that global overall business within geographic reach) in 2020, they’d take in $300 billion, the
company projected in its estimates; by 2040, it would hope to reach 35% and capture spend of $1.9 trillion for it
and its partners.”
“The individual projects themselves would also see profit margins of at least 35%--and often much higher—by
the year 2030. Hyperloop One’s presentation estimates that the Russian loop would be earning $32.9 billion in
profit, on revenue of $43 billion, by that year, suggesting a 76% profit margin. The smaller Houston line would
be making $1.2 billion in profit, on revenue of $1.9 billion, for a 65% margin; the Dubai loop would yield $523
million in profit off combined passenger and freight revenues of $1.3 billion, a 37.5% profit margin.” – Forbes
(Oct 25, 2016)

• Typical margin for railroad operations is 30-35 %

Isolated transportation
• Hyperloop is isolated from environment for few reasons:
• Reduced air pressure  less air resistance  efficient high speeds
• Won’t interrupt physically conventional transportations
• Possibility to create completely automatic transportation system with a help
from artificial intelligence
Tube
• Steel tubes provide isolated environment
• Will be depressurized (<200 Pa) by vacuum pumps
Pod
• Pods carry cargo and passengers
• Suitable pressure maintained
(compare to airplane fuselages)
• Other functions:
• Levitation/suspension and
guidance by passive maglev
• Linear electric motors provide
propulsion
• Emergency brakes
• Life and safety support systems
• On-board power
• Telemetrics
Magnetic levitation
• Maglev reduces friction by removing
direct contact from the track
• Principle:
• 1. Pod starts to accelerate (no
levitation yet)
• 2. Magnets in motion induce current in
track wiring
• 3. Magnetic field created in track
wiring repels agains permanent
magnets in the pod
• 4. Pod starts to levitate
Structural deployment
• Surface:
• Columns lift and support tube structures from
the ground
• Challenges regarding temperature control,
moisture, ground movement, private lands and
safety issues
• Tunnel:
• One step further in isolation
• Bedrock doesn’t require supports
• Steady and predictable environment once
tunneled and deployed
• No problems with right-of-way
• Floating:
• Least considered option
• New technical solutions might be required
Interfaces
• Interface is where two things
interract
• Interfaces are possible bottlenecks
• Loading and boarding by
stations/terminals
• Pressure difference handled by airlocks
• Defines how many pods we can handle
• Switches for branches
• Defines limits for operations from
minor branches
• Interfaces will be designed to work
automatically
SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition I
• Pod design competition
• Aims to acclerate the development of
functional prototypes and encourage
innovative solutions
• Test track (1,2 km) built close to SpaceX
headquarters
• First installment of the competition on
January 2017 provided a proof of concept.
• 27 teams participated but only three teams
had enough time to test
• Delft Hyperloop (Netherlands)
• WARR Hyperloop (Germany)
• MIT (USA)
• Pods achieved 90 kilometers per hour velocity
SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition II
• Second installment of the
competition will be held in
summer 2017
• Focused on a single criterion:
maximum speed
• The competition is still open also
to new student teams interested
in competing on the track
Current projects on the area of Baltic Sea
Baltic Metro network in future
Other projects
• Dubai (Abu Dhabi – Dubai)
• Elon Musk’s boring mission
in Los Angeles
• Central Europe (Brno –
Bratislava)
• Netherlands (Dutch Loop)
• South Korea (Hypertube)
• Australia (Sydney-
Melbourne)
• Rail Baltic (railway vs.
hyperloop)
Hyperloop One Global Challenge
• Started in May 2016 by Hyperloop One
• Competition for individuals, companies, universitities and
governments to develop comprehensive proposals for new Hyperloop
corridors
• Over 2600 registrants in five months
• 38 remaining semifinalists
• Finalists will be decided by the judge before next summer
Semifinalists
• Description about the situation
Hyperloop Talsinki
• Leaders: Stanislav Popkov & Janne Ruponen
• Timeline: pre-feasibility studies finished on 27th of April 2017
• Corridor length: approx. 90 kilometers in a tunnel
• We are competing against traditional railways (FinEst Link)
Who are we
• Janne Ruponen:
• Born 1991 in Finland
• Master of Science in
Technology
• Majors: mechanical and
industrial engineering

• Stanislav Popkov:
• Born in 1983 in Estonia
• Master of Science in
Architecture
• Has runned own company
already eight years
Other questions…
• How we got involved?
• What we have achieved?
• What kind of competence we need?
• What we do now is a matter of chance
Why we are doing this
• More opportunities for people:
• Larger commuting area  expanded labour and education markets
• Balanced living costs  people will have more real estate options
• Enhanced communication  less major conflicts
• Forced integration in regulations  more options for entrepreneurs
• New vacancies generated  new job opportunities
• To reduce greenhouse gas emissions
What we want to achieve
• To replace railway technology and use Hyperloop technology in the
tunnel corridor between Helsinki and Tallinn
• To help to design first test track in Europe
• To improve technical solutions around Hyperloop
• To improve integration between self-driving cars and Hyperloop
• To connect Baltic region with new infrastructure network
• To co-develop efficient door-to-door ecosystem
• To help local industries to participate to relevant projects
Hyperloop Talsinki
• We want to expand our team with new members who are passionate
about new transportation modes
• Next phases will involve deeper technical research and pre-feasibility
studies
• New company will be established soon (seed capital rounds ahead)
• We want to concentrate especially to development of Hyperloop
interfaces and integration
Contact information:

Janne Ruponen
Email: janne.ruponen@student.lut.fi
Phone: 0505610784
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janneruponen/

Stanislav Popkov
Email: info@standup.ee

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/hyperloopestonia/

Meetup group: Helsinki Hyperloop
Thank you.