Hyperloop for Hamburg Port

Getting containers out of congested ports and into the hinterland can involve thousands of trucks – and, of course, a lot of harmful emissions and snarling traffic.

But Hamburg, Europe’s second-largest port, will soon be the site of a test that could revolutionize this process. Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), which operates three terminals in the Port of Hamburg, is teaming up with the California-based R&D company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) as part of a joint venture to implement a test section running from a quay’s edge to a transfer station by 2021.

Hyperloop systems generate negative pressure in tubes that could send containers zipping at up to 1,200 km/h using low-energy magnetic levitation technology.

The initial stage will involve building a transfer station and developing a transport capsule for standard shipping containers. Up to 4,100 containers could reportedly be handled by such a system per day.