The Hyperloop has become a reality in the new ‘European Hyperloop Centre’ in Veendam, the Netherlands. All the elements required to operate a Hyperloop are available here in test versions. Hyperloop developers from all over the world meet here to develop the Hyperloop further and maintain research and industry partnerships.
Open borders are one of the great features of Europe and have largely been taken for granted for the past 40 years. Nevertheless one still appreciates the feeling of going past deserted customs houses by car without being stopped, only to pick up speed again with a renewed sense of freedom.
During our short trip with GATEWAY Hyperloop Europe, we pass through the Bunde/Nieuweschans border crossing on the 75-kilometre journey from Emden in Lower Saxony to Veendam in the Netherlands, near the university town of Groningen. The European Hyperloop Centre (EHC) is located roughly halfway between Groningen and Papenburg, Germany. The EHC is situated in the Ems-Dollart-Region – an administrative union within the German-Dutch borderlands –, which provides the Hyperloop Centre an ideal, international environment.
Professors Walter Neu and Thomas Schüning, who work on the Hyperloop project at Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences, accompany the GATEWAY reporter on the second stop of his journey to European Hyperloop locations. Read the first GATEWAY report from Emden here.
The EHC is open to all Hyperloop initiatives for testing
Kees Mark, Managing Director of the European Hyperloop Centre in Veendam
The professors from Emden are delighted to meet Kees Mark again. He is the newly appointed managing director of the European Hyperloop. The EHC’s test facility and knowledge centre in Veendam and Groningen operate according to the ‘open innovation’ principle. This invites Hyperloop developers from around the world to trial new technologies in a near-reality testing environment, or to collaborate with industrial partners.
When we arrive at the logistics centre in Veendam, we are greeted by a heavy downpour. We wait in the car until Mark, who introduces himself as Kees, arrives. The site itself is huge and located right next to a railway track. This much space is needed though to accommodate the 420-metre-long Hyperloop tube, which is made up of 34 sections in total, which each have a 2.5m diameter, and branch out at the end so as to act as a switch. It lies there imposingly, like a snake taking a nap, as long as no danger is imminent.
“I see a lot of steel here,” says the GATEWAY reporter, once the rain has stopped and our small group comes to a stand at the front end of the tube, where the operating and safety logistics and construction offices are located. “Yes, I am from the steel industry,” laughs Kees. “Gas pipes are also a form of transport.”
“European governments are embracing the Hyperloop and incorporating it into their mobility programmes. This means we can make great progress in Europe!"
At the EHC the basic Hyperloop technology is ready for operation
Kees is a hands-on guy, who doesn’t place much value on formal hierarchies. Is he the head of the European Hyperloop? “My main task is not to coordinate the 27 European Hyperloop projects,” he says, insisting on a decentralized approach to Hyperloop research. “I see Veendam as a really important part of Hyperloop development all across Europe. Here we are close to other transportation routes and from a practical point of view, we have the space to expand, which makes this a more than ideal location for a training center to achieve important Hyperloop innovations. To have an innovation center that involves local schools and universities also greatly benefits the region.”
The European Hyperloop test facility demonstrates and tests systems as well as technologies such as magnetic levitation, propulsion, stabilization, and lane changes at speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour. Here one finds virtually everything needed for a Hyperloop. Moreover Veendam is making a significant contribution to the Hyperloop project by developing switches and with its vacuum technology, the facility is at the forefront of today’s developments.
“We can achieve one millibar of air pressure in the tube, and the reduction in air resistance directly impacts energy consumption,” Kees adds. “To me this is of utmost importance, because the main goal of developing the Hyperloop is to create a sustainable, energy-efficient mobility solution.” He remarks that the vacuum research being conducted here is also relevant to technologies unrelated to transportation, the Hyperloop research would also generates added value for other areas.
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A visit to the new European Hyperloop Centre in Veendam: Managing Director Kees Mark aims to develop the facility into an international Hyperloop testing centre
Industry and research partners attended the first public test drive
The Hyperloop passenger capsule at the Technical University of Munich
The industrial partners for the vacuum tubes are numerous and include Hardt Hyperloop, POSCO and TATA (two large steel corporations), but also local champions like Mercon, Denys and Avitec. Using VR simulation, they are developing prototypes of the so called ‘pods’, which are the passenger capsules, to collect feedback from test subjects. Hive and Bytesnet in Groningen are helping to develop these prototypes. The Hyperloop Development Program (HDP), a public-private partnership, was established to carry out this project. Hyperloop companies from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, and Spain are involved. Universities in the network, including those in Munich, Emden/Leer, Groningen, Delft, and EPFL in Switzerland, play a central role in the research.
Visitors take a look inside the test site's tube
Many of the partners attended the opening of the ‘European Hyperloop’ in September 2024. The first public test run using magnetic levitation technology took place in the new tube in front of international guests. In the tube, which has a maximum speed of 100 km/h, the pods reached 30 km/h — not by means of wheels, but through magnetic levitation. “We are thrilled with this first result,” said Marinus von der Meijs, Hardt Hyperloop’s Technology and Engineering Director, after the event. “Next on the agenda are full-speed tests at just under 100 km/h with lane changes.” Hardt aims to begin carrying passengers in 2030.
A brief excursion into the interior of the tube
Are we allowed to go inside the Hyperloop tube? Six months after the presentation, the two professors from Emden, a video reporter and the GATEWAY reporter wearing helmets and dressed in bright yellow safety jackets are standing at the control container at the front of the tube. The tube must be vacuum-sealed for the tests. Mark presses a button to activate the opening mechanism. Slowly and somewhat solemnly the heavy, round steel closure opens hydraulically, inch by inch revealing the interior of the still completely dark tube. Did we really want to go in there?
We line up in single file, with the athletic and agile engineers leading the way, and enter. The reporter and video reporter take care not to trip up. After all, who would want to fall onto the non-existent tracks of the Hyperloop? According to safety regulations, the tube is considered a ‘dangerous enclosed space’, and with good reason — the complete lack of oxygen caused by the air vacuum that occurs during operation makes it dangerous enough. As the open door behind us quickly grows smaller, our group moves forward towards the switch.
All pods share the same technology
Meanwhile, light strips in alternating signal colours illuminate the concave walls of the tube, which are equipped with additional technology, including a power carrier and a data rail that – resembling a neverending barcode – records the pod’s position and other data. There also is a brake track and additional communication and control elements, as the pod itself should be as free of technology as possible, and thus as light as possible. This approach is also economical, as all pods share the same technology.
The lights emphasise the tube’s converging nature, creating a psychedelic atmosphere. They make you feel as if you are floating, almost levitating, reducing the underlying sense of anxiety about being in such a dangerous place for humans – considering that in the near future people will be transported from A to B at high speeds in capsules inside these tubes, like messages in bottles.
The enormous technical challenge of changing tracks
At the junction where the lane changes, we arrive at the Hyperloop switch, which is developed in the local facilities and learn that the switch is in fact one of the most technically sophisticated elements.
During lane changes an equilibrium of all the forces acting on the vehicle must be reached. In order to keep the capsule in the correct position during this process, the exact strength of the magnets on the left and right sides must be determined. The centrifugal forces acting on the gondola during this process, which depend on speed, must be carefully monitored.
During this maneuver, the nacelle and rail system components generate extreme heat. Therefore, all components must be able to withstand high temperatures, and the sensors must remain stable throughout. The Technical University of Delft played a significant role in developing this technology.
Mark Kees can be contented with what he is taking on here. „I can see a lot of enthusiasm here,“ he says after we have walked back through the tunnel. Meanwhile, the sun has come out, and our eyes are squinting in the bright light after adjusting to the artificial lighting inside the tube. „The Hyperloop brings so many good people together — it’s fantastic.“
So, Kees, where do you think the first Hyperloop will be built? „I don’t want to commit to any one country. The fact is that European governments are open to the Hyperloop and are including it in their mobility programs. There is lots of progress to be made in Europe!“
