Hyperloop Holland – the Amsterdam, Rotterdam low-carbon connection

A hyperloop network between North and South Holland could lead to a 1Mt reduction in carbon emissions among other benefits.

In a pre-feasibility study for Cargo-Hyperloop Holland, a hyperloop for goods and passengers between Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam was found to have the potential to reduce the number of trucks on the main highways connecting these cities by about 1,100 per day.

Other benefits include shorter transit times and improved reliability, along what is one of the country’s busiest and most congested roads.

Hyperloops are an emerging technology in which an aircraft like capsule travels through a network of low-pressure tubes utilising magnetic forces for levitation, guidance and propulsion.

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The proposal is that the infrastructure can be built above or below or at ground level. The capsules can travel singly or in coupled units and are capable of driverless operations and high speeds of up to 700km/h

While hyperloops are still in the test phase, they are considered a likely component of future transport systems and for example a potential alternative to short haul air travel.

Indeed the Cargo Hyperloop Holland is seen as a first step in a European hyperloop network across the breadth of the region.

The Cargo Hyperloop Holland study, which was recently completed by Delft-based Hardt Hyperloop and a consortium of public and private parties, found that the hyperloop would have capacity for over 20,000 passengers or 20,000 half pallets (250kg) of cargo per hour per direction at 700 km/h.

The study doesn’t specifically address the electricity supply, apart from noting that it would be renewables sourced and that there is opportunity to place solar panels on the above the ground infrastructure.

Consumption is estimated at 38Wh/passenger/km at 700km/h and 15Wh/t/km at 200km/h.

Dominik Härtl of Hardt Hyperloop, who led the study, explains says the approach was different from previously performed hyperloop studies in directly involving the future users of the system as well as other key stakeholders.

“The project largely follows the A4 motorway, which connects cities such as Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. Currently proposed solutions will only partially solve [the congestion] issue. Hyperloop could add capacity and therefore ease congestion on existing infrastructure while also increasing connectivity and productivity.”

The cost of construction of the hyperloop network is estimated at approximately €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion), while the benefits could reach €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion).

Hardt Hyperloop’s ambition is to have the first route operational by the end of this decade, with the first ‘Greenports’ section south from Amsterdam recommended as a possible demonstrator.