How Virgin Hyperloop could help make transportation in Europe climate neutral

Hyperloop has been identified as a game-changing technology by the European Commission in its European Union Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.

The strategy and action plan outline how the EU will reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050 as part of the Green Deal and ensure that the EU has clean, fast, smart and accessible mobility systems for all.

“I applaud the European Commission for its bold and ambitious climate strategy,” said Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. “I believe Virgin Hyperloop can play a strong role in helping to achieve Europe’s sustainability goals by offering a system that has zero direct emissions and will transform the way people travel across the continent.”

By combining an ultra-efficient electric motor, magnetic levitation, and a low-drag environment, hyperloop systems can carry more people than a subway, at airline speeds, and with zero direct emissions. Virgin Hyperloop is working to be safety certified by 2025 and have commercial operations running by 2030. Its 100% electric system could play a key role in helping achieve the European Green Deal’s climate-neutrality objective.

“The European Commission is paving the way for the future of sustainable mobility,” said Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop. “We share a steadfast commitment to exploring innovative solutions to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis, and we look forward to continuing to work together to create a hyper-connected Europe.”

The European Commission has been working with hyperloop companies over the last two years to establish safety requirements for the technology. It is now carrying out a nine-month study to develop a safety regulatory approach for Europe, which will be used to develop the regulatory policy for hyperloop technologies.

This, along with Virgin Hyperloop’s decision to build a Hyperloop Certification Center in the US and its first passenger testing, will pave the way for the certification of hyperloop systems – a key step towards commercial projects, including those in Europe. Virgin Hyperloop is also working with major investor DP World, to establish ground breaking passenger projects in India and the Middle East – as well as working on the future development of sustainable hyperloop-enabled cargo systems using DP World’s global network.

Four passengers recently travelled safely in a Virgin Hyperloop pod for the first time, in two tests that made transportation history.

Visit Virgin Hyperloop to find out more.