As companies are racing to realize Hyperloop, Virgin Hyperloop One has teamed up with DP World, a global expert in trade and supply chain logistics, to develop the next revolution in cargo transportation. By now, you may have already guessed, Virgin Hyperloop One and DP World are joining hands to take Hyperloop One technology to cargo transportation.
Called DP World Cargospeed, this hyperloop-enabled cargo systems will transportation of palletized cargo faster, sustainable and therefore more efficient. The aim, according to the horse’s mouth, is to provide exceptional service for high-priority, on-demand goods and doing it at the speed of flight and at a cost that fits between traditional trucking and air freight.
The concept leverages on vacuum tube environment employed in a hyperloop system to make speeds of 1,000 km/h (621 miles an hour). At this speed, DP World Cargospeed will make delivery in just 16 hours, as compared to 23 by flight and 4 days by land using trucks, and at a cost at 1.5X of trucking but significantly lower than air freight. Lets just that hyperloop-enabled cargo delivery could potentially be the “middle path” that wins in both time and costs.
But the initiate outlay is going to be huge, considering the infrastructure it will need. However, once set up, this system will be able to delivery at speeds and doing so at a higher frequency and thereby it has the potential to shrink inventory lead times, help reduce finished goods inventory, along with ancillary benefits like reducing warehouse space required. This in turns will lead to cost cutting and therefore benefiting the bottomline. That’s not to mention, with extreme speed delivery, hyperloop-enable cargo systems could be invaluable for high-value, time-sensitive goods.
“Countries, regions, and states around the world could benefit from a DP World Cargospeed system. Take India as an example. Today, 25 percent of cargo traveling through the Mumbai port has its origin or destination in Pune. A large portion of this cargo trundles along the crowded Mumbai-Pune Expressway which carries 110,000 vehicles daily. A mixed-use Virgin Hyperloop One system in the region could reduce a two-to-three hour journey between the two cities by truck to just 25-minutes and combine the State’s two largest economic centers into a thriving, competitive megaregion.”
It sure makes a lot of sense for DP World to embark on this ambitious endeavors since it already has an established cargo distribution network in 40 countries around the world. With hyperloop technology in the picture, DP World could very well be revolutionizing cargo delivery in the next century. You can learn more about Cargospeed in the video below.
Image courtesy of Virgin Hyperloop One.
