Dubai- based provider of worldwide smart end-to-end supply chain logistics DP World has welcomed recent developments in the US on regulating the Hyperloop transport technology.
The high-speed futuristic system has moved a step closer to reality after the US House of Representatives passed legislation calling for a regulatory framework for its safe deployment and use. This is seen as a vote of confidence in the UAE’s efforts to introduce the technology for transporting people and goods.
The Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council in the US is expected to issue guidance within the next six months to help set out a clear regulatory framework for the industry.
Sultan Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and Chairman of Virgin Hyperloop said, “The move, which brings hyperloop systems one major step closer to reality, validates our decision to take this technology seriously and support this innovation.”
“Our aim is to be a catalyst for global adoption and expansion of this new mode of transportation that will be faster, safer, cheaper, and more sustainable than other existing modes,” Bin Sulayem added.
DP World is a major investor in Virgin Hyperloop— the category leader in hyperloop development and the only hyperloop company in the world to successfully test its hyperloop technology at scale. It launched the ‘DP World Cargospeed’ international brand in 2018. The first initiative of its kind, created through a partnership between DP World and Virgin Hyperloop to provide hyperloop-enabled cargo systems that will facilitate the fast, sustainable and efficient delivery of palletised cargo around the world.
Jay Walder, CEO of Virgin Hyperloop said, “DP World has been a key enabler of developing this technology for deployment, and the inclusion of hyperloop transportation in this legislation is a great moment in history for us and for DP World.”
This month, Virgin Hyperloop signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level, research-based AI university, to initiate a collaborative approach to research and innovation that will culminate in making the UAE a centre for the development of this technology.
The California-based firm has also been engaging with other governments in the region including Saudi Arabia and India. It recently conducted the world’s first national-level study in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Transport.
