Steelmaker ArcelorMittal, Zeleros to collaborate on hyperloop project in Europe

ArcelorMittal’s rail business in Europe and European hyperloop developer Zeleros are collaborating to find the right steel material to scale up Zeleros’ hyperloop to perform in ultra-high-speed conditions, the companies said Sept. 28.

A hyperloop is an ultra high-speed transportation system for public and goods transport.

As part of the collaboration, the partners have built a spinning wheel facility to test how certain steels perform in ultra-high-speed conditions.

The testing facility, built at ArcelorMittal’s Rail Excellence Centre in Spain, can reach linear speeds of up to 500 km/hour, the two said.

The results of the testing would “provide data to further advance the selection of the best steels for hyperloop use, considering safety, energy efficiency, cost and scalability as the main decision criteria,” the companies added.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed TSI Northwest Europe Rebar at Eur802/mt ex-works Sept. 27, down Eur13/mt on the week, while European domestic steel section prices strengthened on the week to Sept. 27, as mills remained firm at elevated levels.

“Thanks to the continuous improvement of steel, we can radically reduce infrastructure costs and assure energy efficiency and infrastructure viability,” Zeleros Chief Technology Officer Daniel Orient said.

“The work we have been doing with Zeleros reflects the importance we place on our involvement in innovative projects using steel in infrastructure and transportation, and that contribute to reducing CO2 emissions,” according to Nicoleta Popa, portfolio leader for Construction Applications, Infrastructures and Long Products at ArcelorMittal Global R&D.

The two companies have been in partnership since 2017 with ArcelorMittal’s R&D centers and Zeleros jointly developing together studies to analyze the way in which materials behave in high-speed conditions, measuring the main characteristics for hyperloop technology, such as the electromagnetic properties of steels as hyperloop designs propose the use of magnetic levitation.

— Annalisa Villa