Test facility for Hyperloop infrastructure has been opened

Dübendorf ZH – The EuroTube Foundation has opened the first section of its Hyperloop test facility DemoTube at Innovation Park Zurich. Hyperloop is intended to enable travel at 900 kilometers per hour in vacuum tubes.

The first section of the EuroTube Foundation 's DemoTube Hyperloop test facility was opened at the Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf on July 19. According to a press release, the facility will be used to develop Hyperloop technology, which will enable emission-free travel at speeds of up to 900 kilometers per hour in vacuum tubes. Thanks to the magnetic levitation technology, the vehicles glide smoothly and the reduced ambient pressure significantly reduces air resistance, which can save energy, the report continues. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the foundation, partner companies and sponsors, as well as start-ups, scientists and mobility experts. "The DemoTube will give a major boost to the testing of this innovative transportation technology in Switzerland. Now companies, scientists and developers can test their prototypes in our facility," says Doré de Morsier, founder and chairman of the EuroTube Foundation. EuroTube was founded in 2019 by graduates of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) as a research foundation and was elevated to a research institution of national importance by the Federal Council in 2021 for research into this promising technology, according to the press release. The EuroTube Foundation is a non-profit research organization for the development of vacuum transport technology. The first project phase of the DemoTube facility comprises a vacuum chamber with an airlock and valve, which is already being used during the European Hyperloop Week for vacuum tests on vehicle prototypes. Over the next few months, the facility will be extended to include a 120-meter-long tube made of special vacuum-tight concrete and a magnetic levitation train. ce/gba

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