Hyperloop One, the Los Angeles-based company set up to bring Elon Musk’s vacuum maglev concept to market, has announced the locations of the 35 semi-finalists for its Global Challenge, which were whittled down from 2,600 applications.
The challenge began in May 2016 as an “open call to individuals, universities, companies and governments to develop comprehensive proposals for using Hyperloop One’s disruptive transport technology in their region to move passengers and freight point-to-point, swiftly, and on demand”.
The semi-finalists are from 17 countries, with the US producing 11 teams, India five and the UK four. Twenty proposals come with commitments of support from local, state and federal governments and agencies.
The proposals include links between London and Edinburgh, Corsica and Sardinia, Seattle and Portland, Mumbai and Delhi, Buenos Aires and Cordoba, and Mexico City and Guadalajara.
The remaining teams will now be reviewed by Hyperloop One’s panel of experts in transportation, technology, economics and innovation.
Rob Lloyd, chief executive of Hyperloop One, said: “The challenge unleashed ideas from some of the world’s most creative engineers and planners, who care as much as we do about the future of transportation.
“These are all solutions that can make a real and immediate social and economic impact.”
Hyperloop One expects to announce a “handful” of finalists by May.
View a list of the 35 semifinalists here.
Image via Hyperloop One
This article first appeared on BIM+ sister title GCR
The challenge unleashed ideas from some of the world’s most creative engineers and planners, who care as much as we do about the future of transportation.– Rob Lloyd, chief executive, Hyperloop One
