Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has reached a deal with China’s southwestern province of Guizhou to build and test its first track in China, Reuters reports.
HyperloopTT will partner with local government-owned Tongren Transportation Tourism Investment Group in a 50-50 joint venture. Hyperloop will provide the technology and engineering expertise to the partnership, with Tongren managing regulatory and administrative issues as well as construction. Both parties will co-own any intellectual property developed during the partnership, according to Chinese state media.
The first phase of the project will be the construction of a 10 kilometre-long track in Guizhou’s Tongren city.
A hyperloop is a state-of-the-art transportation mechanism that utilises magnets to shoot pods through an airless tube at up to 750 miles per hour. The pods can in theory be used for both passenger and freight purposes.