Webuild and its joint venture partner Leonardo announced a few days ago that they had won a €4 million contract for the preliminary feasibility study for the construction of the Hyper Transfer.
The system will lay the foundations for the construction of the world's first operational prototype, estimated to be worth a total of €800 million. The project, commissioned by Concessioni Autostradali Venete (CAV), will be a preliminary test for the construction of possible sections in Veneto that will make it possible to manage a transport system that does not currently exist at national or European level.
Hyperloop is a super-fast transport system that uses levitation magnets to send capsules of people and cargo travelling at an estimated speed of an airplane and faster along a tube on the ground. The low pressure inside the tube reduces friction, and propulsion systems allow the capsules to travel at super-high speeds, ensuring sustainable mobility and low energy consumption. It would also help reduce traffic congestion and improve safety on motorways, contributing to lower CO2 emissions.
Hyper Transfer, which could become the world's first operational prototype, would be developed in three successive phases, if each is successful: feasibility study (phase 1); design (phase 2); then construction and testing (phase 3).
Webuild leads the joint venture with a 96.22% stake, while partner Leonardo holds the remaining 3.78%. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies will be the technology supply partner and designated designer for the operational prototype, in collaboration with its licensee Hyperloop Italia. RINA joins as an additional Designated Designer. The JV and its partners will carry out the feasibility study under a Partnership for Innovation, a contractual arrangement that favours research and development.
