“Global freight will double in less than 30 years,” Nick Earle, Senior Vice President of Global Field Operations at Hyperloop One, said during his presentation at the Container Terminal Automation Conference in London on Thursday, April 20th (2017).

Amazon & Hyperloop: Common Interests

With Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One – a rapid transit service – one step closer to becoming a reality in Dubai thanks to recent investments totally $160 million, plans to expand the super fast train into the United States appear to be in the works. The quarterly tech journal Port Technology has hinted that a partnership between retail giant Amazon and Hyperloop One seems like a foregone conclusion – especially since both companies would stand to benefit from the business relationship.

Capable of reaching speeds of 1,200 km (800 mph), Hyperloop One can take passengers and cargo from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes. That would be the equivalent of traveling from New York to Philadelphia in the States. With Amazon hoping to corner the same-day delivery service market, Hyperloop seems like a worthy business ally. Amazon has already made huge technological strides in same-day drone delivery service for smaller packages. Now they just wait on FAA regulatory approval.

Hyperloop One is a super train with full passenger and cargo integration. “The main hyperloop breaks down into smaller pods for both the people and cargo.” These pods then converge at huge terminals, which the company calls “hyperloop portals.” Passenger Pods will come in coach, lounge, and meeting room versions. One of the coolest features: the passenger pods are able to break free from the hyperloop track and transform into road vehicles.

Hoping to revolutionize land travel for both cargo and people, Nick Earle talked about Hyperloop enormous direct-to-destination upside:

“It’s not just speed – it’s demand that’s the important factor – freight pods could leave portals every 20 minutes.”

Even though the Amazon/Hyperloop One partnership has yet to be announced, both parties seem to have a common interest in transforming the way we transport goods. As Hyperloop One continues to build its infrastructure in places like Dubai, companies with an invested interest in same-day delivery service will be chomping at the bit to hitch a ride on a Hyperloop pod.

The Hyperloop One Project in Dubai

With $50 million in new funding from DP World Group, the third largest port operator in the world, Hyperloop investors are ready to play a major role in building the future of megacities. According to Futurism, CEO Rob Lloyd signed the deal with His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Transport Authority in Dubai (RTA). The building blocks are in place and with the backing from companies like 137 Ventures, Khosla Ventures, The French National Rail Company, and GE Ventures, designers have revealed a new system that shows how it would really be like to ride Hyperloop One.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, financing from DP World Group is “debt that converts to preferred shares if the company raises another round of equity.” The backing is now pretty substantial and with the recent hiring of ex-Uber CFO Brent Callinicos, it’s time to built the train of the future.

It’s no surprise that Elon Musk is the wizard behind Hyperloop One’s project. With the future of zero-emission technology taking center stage, like Tesla’s recent Model 3 unveiling, alternative transportation has no boundaries. Called “the city of the future,” Dubai seems to be the perfect backdrop for testing groundbreaking marvels in transportation.t Audi may have a few surprises up their sleeve prior to their electric vehicle launch date.

Source: Futurism