A Triple-Helix Approach for the Assessment of Hyperloop Potential in Europe

Abstract

Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed surface mode of passenger and freight transport that has gained much visibility in recent years. Since its introduction in modern form in 2013, progress on Hyperloop has been thriving, with several companies involved in research and development of Hyperloop systems and subsystems. Some of them have planned testing tracks in Europe, anticipating what could be the start of commercial routes. Nevertheless, there are concerns that need to be addressed regarding the safety and serviceability performance, and further steps are necessary for the standardization and certification of the system. This study leverages the state of play of Hyperloop development, identifies issues and challenges from a European perspective, and provides policy insights towards testing and commercialization. To this end, it follows a two-tier approach that (i) addresses safety concerns related to the implementation of Hyperloop as a key enabler of the proposed technology and (ii) analyses Hyperloop technology developments using a triple-helix innovation approach, using a structured methodology based on consolidated data sources (i.e., the Scopus database of peer-reviewed literature and the Patstat patent database). The performed analyses highlight the significant amount of research and patent activity on several aspects of Hyperloop, while the mapping of activities carried out by industry in Europe, as well as from European Services, highlights the progress made towards the future Hyperloop implementation in Europe. Altogether, these findings provide factual information regarding the necessary research, policy, and industry steps taken so far that can help bring Hyperloop into the market. To the authors’ knowledge this represents a very systematic and extensive literature review on Hyperloop’s scientific and technological developments.

Equivalent Inductance Model for the Design Analysis of Electrodynamic Suspension Coils for the Hyperloop

“…) 0 + 0 = 0 (7) where the 0-th coil is magnetically decoupled with other coils. Therefore, considering that mutual inductance decreases rapidly with distance, the magnetic effects of adjacent coils at a specific n-th harmonic can be replaced by the equivalent inductance in Equation ( 8), or explicitly represented by the ratio of interval 2 0 and coil pitch using Equation (3).…”

“…Recently, magnetically levitated ultra-high-speed ground transportation, such as Hyperloop, has attracted significant attention worldwide [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Instead of a traditional wheel-rail system that has a speed limit, noncontact magnetic levitation technologies are being used in high-speed transportation systems.…”

The Hyperloop System and Stakeholders: A Review and Future Directions

“…Description of the hyperloop system components is provided in several studies [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Hyperloop studies focus on specific performance topics, such as aerodynamics [15,18,, safety [8,9,16,19,20,44,45], and energy [7,9,14,[16][17][18]23,28,39,44,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58], while others focus on different hyperloop technologies, such as in the field of pneumatic tube and tunnel systems…”

“…stakeholders in the research and development of the hyperloop system in North America, Asia, and Europe. Gkoumas and Christou [45] reviewed hyperloop scientific literature and patents, while the Hyperloop Standards Desk Review [3] provided a list of US stakeholders engaged in hyperloop R&D. Nonetheless, a list of EU stakeholders working on the hyperloop system and research directions per hyperloop component is not provided in the literature.…”

Descubrimiento y evaluación de recursos web de calidad mediante Patent Link Analysis

“…Uno de los movimientos más importantes dentro de la transferencia de conocimiento, es el descrito por Etzkowitz y Leydersdorff conocido como el modelo Triple Hélice. Este modelo busca impulsar las interacciones entre la Academia, la Industria y los Gobiernos para fomentar el desarrollo económico y social (E. G. Campbell, Powers, Blumenthal, & Biles, 2004;Czarnitzki, Hussinger, & Schneider, 2012;Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff, 1995;Gkoumas & Christou, 2020;Karytinos & Ingham, 2015;Leydesdorff, 2012;López Jiménez & Dittmar, 2019;Meyer, Siniläinen, & Utecht, 2003). El modelo Triple Hélice señala que la sinergia entre las tres vertientes permite transferir el conocimiento otorgando valor a la hibridación de las entidades y borrando los límites de sus roles básicos.…”