HARDT Global Mobility creates partnership with BAM for Europe’s first hyperloop test facility
Bunnik, the Netherlands, 15 May 2017 – HARDT Global Mobility is forming a partnership with BAM. The aim of the Delft based startup company is to create the first hyperloop test facility in Europe in order to further develop the technology behind this superfast means of transport.
This morning at BAM’s headquarters in Bunnik Rob van Wingerden, CEO of Royal BAM Group, and Tim Houter, CEO of HARDT Global Mobility, acknowledged the importance of realising the test facility in Delft. Prior to this BAM and HARDT Global Mobility conducted an economic feasibility study for a hyperloop on the route of the so-called ‘Zuiderzeelijn’. The results of this study persuaded both parties to work together. The cooperation relates to a thirty meter long test facility sufficient for testing the most critical systems of the hyperloop at low speed.
Houter, CEO of HARDT Global Mobility, deems the partnership with one of Europe’s largest construction companies a great step forward: ‘Thanks to the cooperation with BAM, Europe’s first hyperloop test facility will be realised, which enables us to learn a lot about new technologies. Our aim is the realisation of a fully operational multiple kilometer test track within four years. The experience that this first test facility will provide, will be an enormous contribution to the development of actual hyperloop networks in the near future.’
BAM’s CEO Van Wingerden: ‘Creating a construction portfolio for the future is one of the pillars of the BAM strategy, ‘Building the present, creating the future’. Innovation is a critical part of that. Being able to realise our ambitions requires us to invest in new technology and to enter into partnerships with innovative, entrepreneurial partners like HARDT Global Mobility. Therefore we like to leverage the expertise and experience present within BAM for the creation of this first hyperloop test facility in Europe.’
Hyperloop
The hyperloop is Elon Musk’s answer to the desire for fast, sustainable, safe and reliable transport. People and cargo are able to travel through very low pressure tubes with speeds of 1,080 km/h. This form of transport is more energy efficient when compared to travel on planes and trains. In order to stimulate the development of the hyperloop, Musk and his space agency SpaceX organised the ‘Hyperloop Pod Competition’. The founders of HARDT Global Mobility are one of the winners of this international competition of which the final took place in Los Angeles at the start of this year.
Further information:
- BAM Infra: Els van Rosse, +31 (0)6 11 83 98 35;
- HARDT Global Mobility, Marleen van de Kerkhof, +31 (0)6 36 02 60 00.