Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), one of the firms developing Elon Musk’s vision of ultra-speed travel through tubes, has signed its first commercial deal to license its technology to South Korea, making the Asian country potentially one of the first to get the futuristic system.
A hyperloop would work by propelling pods through a large tube at speeds of 750 mph using magnets, and was originally thought up by billionaire Elon Musk in 2013.
The agreement will see South Korea’s government of technological innovation and infrastructure, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), and Hanyang University use HTT’s technology.
This will include licensing and research development of the tube infrastructure and safety platform, a full-scale test track, and access to HTT’s levitation, propulsion, and battery technology as well as passenger experience designs.
Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, said the specifics in terms of revenues and what exactly the company will share with Korea has not been decided. But the aim is to license HTT’s technology as well as co-develop new features with the Korean institutes.
