At first it was just a vague idea: Six years ago, Paypal founder Elon Musk presented his vision of a completely new high-speed train network, the Hyperloop. The company HyperloopTT was founded the same year.

How do your bring together investors, development partners, and government agencies to develop a completely new technology? By creating confidence in the feasibility of innovation and in its safety.

We need to work towards something that is not just very safe, but “the safest means of transport in the world” – that is the bar that the developers of the Hyperloop have set for themselves. It’s clear that such a project requires experts and great collaborators who know exactly what technical safety means.

Since 2018, TÜV SÜD has been working on safety for HyperloopTT. The task is to create guidelines for consistent safety standards that underpin future development in Hyperloop technology.

It’s pioneering work, as Hyperloop technology does not yet extend beyond individual test tracks. To have the ability to nevertheless make assertions about safety, TÜV SÜD is first looking at established technologies from which standards can be transferred.

TÜV SÜD consolidates expert knowledge: In addition to the railway sector, colleagues with expertise in areas such as roller coasters, space travel, aerodynamics, and cable cars are being utilized. That’s because knowledge from each of these areas can also be applied to the Hyperloop.

TÜV SÜD’s battery test laboratories are also being used, since the Hyperloop will have large energy storage facilities at its disposal. Together they will bring the Hyperloop and safety together for the first time.

TÜV SÜD presented the final version of the Safety Guideline at the beginning of 2019 – but this collaboration is continuing. In the future, the service provider will be managing the safety aspects of the Hyperloop test track in Toulouse.