Global scientific and engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasetti has made an investment in HyperloopTT after completing a safety and risk review that began back in 2020. The deal is a good sign that HyperloopTT is making notable progress towards actually creating a successful hyperloop system.
Thornton Tomasetti has been in business since 1949 and since then they’ve become a leader in performing computational fluid dynamics and solid mechanics analysis and safety assessments. That makes it very capable of judging HyperloopTT’s plans with a high degree of competency.
Pawel Woelke led the project for Thornton Tomasetti and he detailed the challenges regarding hyperloop transportation. “Because hyperloop is a completely new system, the technical challenges require innovative thinking. Working closely with the HyperloopTT team, we systematically assessed the risks and developed multiple first-of-its-kind, practical solutions aimed at risk reduction.”
Read Also: Virgin Hyperloop Completes First Passenger Test Through Vacuum Tube, Hits 107 MPH
During the risk and safety assessment, Thornton Tomasetti ran a bevy of detailed simulations based on various conditions including thermodynamics, gas dispersion, capsule and battery safety, blast and impact effects, and material selection. The findings from its work will inform the next design iteration of the key system elements HyperloopTT is working on.
CEO of HyperloopTT, Andrés De León, characterized the investment by saying… “Passenger safety is the most important part of any transportation system. We have placed this principle at the core of our design by utilizing best practices from rail, aviation and other analogous industries and employing the expertise of leading professionals in these fields. The completion of this latest safety analysis done in partnership with the experts at Thornton Tomasetti allows us to move on to the next stages for our passenger and freight systems.”
Founded in 2013, HyperloopTT is truly a global company with headquarters split between Los Angeles, California, and Toulouse, France. The latter of which is the site where it houses its full-scale test system. The company says that it’s confident that the system is technically feasible but will also generate a profit without requiring government subsidies. HyperloopTT is just one of several companies expanding in this field, with Elon Musk’s Boring Company and Virgin being some of the most prominent investors in this promising technology.
If the transportation system does come to fruition it would certainly be groundbreaking. HyperloopTT says that it believes it could transport passengers safely and comfortably at some 760-mph (1,223 kph). Here’s to hoping that they pull it off because that sounds like an excellent ride.
