Tata Steel, TuTr Hyperloop to scale hyperloop technology in India

Tata Steel has inked a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with TuTr Hyperloop at IIT Madras to collaborate on developing and deploying hyperloop technology in India at scale.

TuTr Hyperloop is a deep tech startup that has been incubated out of IIT-Madras.

The primary research areas of the partnership with Tata Steel will be focused on the main challenges of design and selection of materials.

R Balaji — TuTr Hyperloop Co-founder and CEO said: “We are currently developing and testing various options to make Hyperloop technology solution a global benchmark in terms of cost and efficiency. To meet this objective, we need to leverage the capabilities of global leaders like Tata Steel.

“Partnership with Tata Steel will enable us to solve materials and design related challenges and drive Hyperloop to become a reality.”

Tata Steel, TuTr Hyperloop join forces to scale hyperloop technology in India. Photo courtesy of Tata Steel.

The key elements of a hyperloop system are tubes, pods, track, and propulsion systems. Autonomous, levitated pods travel via a network of evacuated tubes and are said to be ten times more energy-efficient than road transport and aviation, while utilizing two to three times less space than rail and road to enable shorter travel duration compared to aviation.

Phase-I work of the partnership will be executed on a 50m test track at IIT Madras. Following this, TuTr Hyperloop and Tata Steel will work to build a 10km track in phase 2 and 3 by bringing in a consortium of other industry partners from the automotive, engineering, and construction sectors.

Dr. Debashish Bhattacharjee — Tata Steel Vice President of Technology & New Materials Business said: “We encourage and foster homegrown technologies and are committed to drive them towards commercial success. Globally, Hyperloop holds huge potential for high-speed sustainable transportation of tomorrow.

“We believe that this disruptive mobility technology can achieve its stated objective through concerted efforts of TuTr Hyperloop and Tata Steel, leveraging their core capabilities. As a materials company committed to sustainable business, we will contribute to finding solutions to critical challenges in the Hyperloop journey by leveraging our R&D capabilities and the Tata ecosystem.”