The hyperloop transportation technology has plenty of sceptics. But Balaji Rangachari, Aravind S Bharadwaj, and Satya Chakravarthy’s TuTr Hyperloop is developing a subscale hyperloop pod prototype to be tested in a 400 metre vacuum tube with the capability to operate at a maximum speed of 150 km/hr. Bharadwaj says the tube test track, currently being built at the Discovery campus of IIT Madras, will be Asia’s first hyperloop testing facility.
It began in 2017 as a student project in IIT Madras, under the guidance of Chakravarthy, professor of aerospace engineering at the institute for the past 24 years. Since then, the team has been consistently working on product development and has filed for multiple patents.
Rangachari, a BTech in aerospace engineering from IIT Madras and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, has over 25 years of experience of building businesses and brands, including at the Mahindra Group. Bharadwaj, a PhD in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has worked at automotive companies including General Motors, Delphi, TVS, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra Rise.
Hyperloop consists of a pod propelled bymagnetic levitation inside a tube of very low pressure. The absence of wheel friction, coupled with minimal energy losses due to air, greatly reduces the energy intensity of the transportation. The TuTr team is focused on pod development, including contactless braking and propulsion. It has demonstrated levitation capability on a 30-metre-long rail. Indian Railways has given a grant of Rs 8. 3 crore to aid in the construction of the 400-metre track.
The development of other technologies is underway concurrently, and the team expects to validate various functional hyperloop technologies by mid-2023. For the pod prototype, the team has signed an MoU with Tata Steel. It has signed an MoU with Hardt Hyperloop, an European tech company, to develop interoperable hyperloop technology between Europe and India. Chakravarthy says the initial focus will be on cargo movement.
Bharadwaj is not worried about the headstart that the US and Europe have on hyperloop technologies. India, he says, has a proven track record on frugal engineering in diverse sectors such as automotive and space technology. At the European Hyperloop Week 2021, TuTr won the award for the most scalable design.
It began in 2017 as a student project in IIT Madras, under the guidance of Chakravarthy, professor of aerospace engineering at the institute for the past 24 years. Since then, the team has been consistently working on product development and has filed for multiple patents.
Rangachari, a BTech in aerospace engineering from IIT Madras and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, has over 25 years of experience of building businesses and brands, including at the Mahindra Group. Bharadwaj, a PhD in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, has worked at automotive companies including General Motors, Delphi, TVS, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra Rise.
Hyperloop consists of a pod propelled bymagnetic levitation inside a tube of very low pressure. The absence of wheel friction, coupled with minimal energy losses due to air, greatly reduces the energy intensity of the transportation. The TuTr team is focused on pod development, including contactless braking and propulsion. It has demonstrated levitation capability on a 30-metre-long rail. Indian Railways has given a grant of Rs 8. 3 crore to aid in the construction of the 400-metre track.
The development of other technologies is underway concurrently, and the team expects to validate various functional hyperloop technologies by mid-2023. For the pod prototype, the team has signed an MoU with Tata Steel. It has signed an MoU with Hardt Hyperloop, an European tech company, to develop interoperable hyperloop technology between Europe and India. Chakravarthy says the initial focus will be on cargo movement.
Bharadwaj is not worried about the headstart that the US and Europe have on hyperloop technologies. India, he says, has a proven track record on frugal engineering in diverse sectors such as automotive and space technology. At the European Hyperloop Week 2021, TuTr won the award for the most scalable design.
