18 Vol. 19/18, May 2018
air cargo accounts for less than one
percent of world trade tonnage, yet 35
percent of the value is carried by air –
suggesting the expanding market is
limited by airline and airport capacity.
In theory, the hyperloop will go a
long way to address these challenges.
With top speeds estimated at 1,000kph
or more, using a completely electric
system with direct emissions, the
system could be as fast as air travel- with far fewer drawbacks and delays.
“Cargo can get there far cheaper
because it’s less energy-intensive than
a plane,” Giegel notes.
The future of passenger travel
According to Geiger, the benefits of
using hyperloop to move cargo are
magnified by the fact that doing so
won’t require additional networks- cargo can be moved on the same pods
UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO, A GROUND
transportation system to move cargo
and people at speeds exceeding
1,000kph seemed an idea fit for the
pages of a science fiction novel. Now,
experts say the technology – known as
hyperloop – is seemingly just around
the corner and ready for deployment.
Last week, Virgin Hyperloop One
and UAE ports operator DP World
announced they are forming a new
firm, DP World Cargospeed, that will
use hyperloop’s vacuum tube-based
technology to deliver goods at
previously unprecedented speeds.
According to DP World chairman
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, hyperloop
means any cargo can be moved around
the world in 14 hours “whether you are
in China or on the North Pole”.
According to Virgin Hyperloop One’s
chief technical officer, Josh Giegel,
the implications for the movement of
goods across the GCC are enormous.
“It’s moving at the speed of flight for
the cost of trucking,” he says. “You
could put a central distribution system
here [Dubai] and be able to distribute
all your goods, within a couple of hours,
all throughout the GCC. You’d be able
to have same-day shipping.”
For the logistics sector, the possibility
of rapid delivery comes at a time of
significant changes in the industry.
According to data from Statista,
e-commerce is set to grow to $4tr
globally by 2020, prompting a dramatic
shift in consumer and business
behaviour, and the pressing need
to be able to respond to each.
In parallel, the market for express
and parcel freight is estimated to grow
to $156bn by 2025 as e-commerce
becomes increasingly global. Currently,A new day dawns for cargo
DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One hope to pave the way
for wholesale changes in the logistics sector
u Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler
of Dubai, with Sir Richard
Branson and DP World
Group chairman and CEO
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem