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Elon Musk's Hyperloop transport dream to be studied in Dubai

Xinhua, August 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

A U.S. startup Hyperloop One and DP World, one of the world's largest port-terminal operators, will work together to conduct a feasibility study on hyperloop technology to unload ocean-going container cargo at the Jebel Ali port in Dubai.

The Hyperloop concept, created by tech billionaire Elon Musk in 2013, is aimed at putting humans or cargo into special pods that move at more than 1,126 km per hour, or faster than a speeding plane, inside a partially pressurized enclosed track.

Hyperloop One, one of two main companies working on making Musk's blueprint a reality, announced the new partnership with DP World on its blog on Tuesday.

According to the Los Angeles-based startup, they will explore how Hyperloop technology could help move cargo quickly, safely and reliably from ships docked at Jebel Ali Port, one of the world's busiest and most productive ports, to a new container depot 29 km inland.

"A dedicated Hyperloop tube with pods cycling through several times a minute can help DP World free up valuable space on the quay side and relieve Dubai's roads of congestion," Hyperloop One said. "As an all-electric, emission-free technology, a Hyperloop cargo offloader would also eliminate a great deal of carbon emissions and other pollutants.

The global maritime port operator DP World will determine if the Hyperloop dream can come true and what advancements Hyperloop might bring to the region and shipping on a global scale.

"This is about testing in real terms how much it costs and how much we can save because if it works in Dubai, we will do it in Africa, India and across Asia," said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, DP World's chairman and CEO, in a statement.

The world's third largest supply chain and terminals operator expects to reach 19.5 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, an industry term for 20-foot-long containers) in 2017 at Jebel Ali and is on track to spend billions of U.S. dollars more to continue expanding capacity at Jebel Ali and its ports worldwide.

At the end of last year, Hyperloop One acquired land in the U.S. state of Nevada to start building a complete prototype, which CEO Rob Lloyd told Xinhua in an earlier interview will be ready by the end of 2016. Endi