I applaud the United States Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s decision to include hyperloop transportation technologies as part of a multi-billion dollar Surface Transportation Investment Act.
The bill accelerates the development of hyperloop technology throughout the United States as hyperloop projects will be eligible for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants.
Research, development, and testing to advance and facilitate innovative rail projects, including projects using electromagnetic guideways in an enclosure in a very low-pressure environment. -SEC. 2303 Line 14, S.2016 Surface Transportation Investment Act of 2021
To receive funding, applicants must submit an economic analysis demonstrating the benefit-cost ratio of a specific commercial project.
HyperloopTT’s landmark Great Lakes Hyperloop Feasibility Study, the world’s most advanced hyperloop project and only detailed economic analysis of a commercial hyperloop system, found a benefit-cost ratio of 2.20, well above the 1.00 funding threshold. Planned to provide sustainable high-speed connections between Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the system would operate profitably without recurring operational subsidies.
Further, the bill codifies the Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council at the Department of Transportation (DOT) to continue advancing safe, innovative transportation technologies.
Government inclusion of hyperloop technology in transportation investment is essential in continuing the momentum for hyperloop adoption in the United States since HyperloopTT’s 2013 founding.
- 2016 | HyperloopTT executives met with US DOT Secretary Anthony Fox to discuss a regulatory home for hyperloop.
- 2017-2018 | Discussions continued with the US DOT, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Surface Transportation Board (STB), and legislators on Capitol Hill and the White House.
- February 2018 | HyperloopTT signs first US interstate hyperloop agreement with NOACA
- March 2019 | NETT Council established as the US DOT’s internal deliberative body, tasked with identifying and resolving jurisdictional and regulatory gaps for innovative technology.
- June 2019 | US DOT officials visit HyperloopTT’s European Hyperloop Research and Development Center in Toulouse, France.
- December 2019 | Great Lakes Hyperloop Feasibility Study finding widespread economic and environmental benefits released.
- July 2020 | US DOT announces that the FRA will oversee hyperloop system development
- May 2021 | Along with other industry executives, I testify before congress advocating for the adoption of hyperloop systems throughout the United States.
Hyperloop is no longer a theoretical concept. The dedicated work of our global movement has proven to the world that hyperloop is the future of sustainable transportation. I am honored to lead such an incredible team that, together with our partners throughout the United States and worldwide, continues to build the future we want to live in.
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CONTACT:
Ben Cooke
HyperloopTT Head of Media Relations