Hyperloop One Expands Feasibility Study in Middle East

This week Los Angeles-based startup Hyperloop One (H1) announced plans to work with road and transit authorities in the United Arab Emirates to evaluate the feasibility of a passenger route for its ultra-high-speed transportation pods.

The proposed project would transport users between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in as little as 12 minutes, according to H1. It takes about two hours to make the 100-mile trip by car, or 30 minutes by plane.

The study, which will be conducted with consultants McKinsey & Co. and the New York-based architectural engineering firm Bjarke Ingels Group, is H1’s sixth route proposal. The company previously announced an initiative in the UAE to develop a cargo-based version of the system.

H1 (formerly Hyperloop Technologies Inc.) is one of several companies pursuing the high-speed “hyperloop” transportation system proposed by Tesla Motors Inc.-founder Elon Musk in 2013. The concept features a pod levitated by magnets and accelerated on a cushion of air by linear induction motors and air compressors in a partial-vacuum tube. The controlled environment is designed to minimize friction and air resistance, allowing the pod to quickly achieve and sustain speeds of 750 mph with relatively little energy.

H1 plans to test a full-scale prototype of its system next year in the Nevada desert. It also is developing more flexible and spacious seating—with windows—that would allow passengers to travel in groups rather than being confined in enclosed individual compartments.