European Hyperloop Week at ETH Zurich for the first time
August 29, 2024After SpaceX cancelled its Hyperloop competition in 2020, four European student teams founded their own event, which takes place in a different European country every year. After three successful events in Spain, the Netherlands and Scotland, this year’s EHW took place in Zurich for the first time.
The Swiss team organised the 6-day event with the support of ETH Zurich. In addition to a financial commitment from their alma mater, they were able to organise the presentations, panel discussions and workshops at ETH Hönggerberg.
As in previous years, the highlight was the public presentation of the pods on Saturday. For the first time, seven teams were able to demonstrate functioning pods at the Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf. The 45-member jury scrutinised the new developments closely – safety was one of the most important criteria.
At the Public Day on Europaallee near Zurich main station on Sunday, the general public was also able to find out about possible future public transport concepts. The ‘pneumatic tube for travellers’ met with great interest. The fact that the ETH team Swissloop won 3rd prize for the overall system of their pod at the final award ceremony was a worthy conclusion to an all-round successful week.
