By Lorenzo Niola, Swisspod

Today’s transportation feels stuck in the past. While society has made technological leaps in various industries like healthcare or energy, our mobility systems seem to have stalled. Congestion dominates the roads, public transit systems struggle with inefficiency, and air travel carries an unsustainable environmental cost.

A Problem of Scale and Sustainability

By 2030, around 12 billion passengers will need to travel, placing unprecedented strain on existing infrastructure. Aviation, while fast, contributes significantly to carbon emissions: nearly 800 million metric tons of CO₂ in 2022 alone. A round trip from New York to Europe emits 2-3 tons of CO₂ per passenger, and flying from London to Paris releases 122 kg of CO₂ per person.

Urban traffic congestion wastes billions of hours annually, costing time and fuel, while freight transport bottlenecks disrupt supply chains. The world needs a faster, greener, and smarter solution.

Hyperloop: A Paradigm Shift in Transportation Led by Swisspod

Imagine traveling in a fully electric, autonomous pod levitating inside a low-pressure tube at near-sonic speeds. Think flying at ground level, with zero direct emissions. This is Hyperloop, the revolutionary mode of transportation set to redefine mobility and solve today’s transportation challenges.

Swisspod, a Swiss-American startup based in Lausanne funded by 2 SpaceX competition winners — Denis Tudor, CEO, and Cyril Dénéréaz, CTO — is at the forefront of pioneering this novel technology. The company stands out as the only player in the Hyperloop market with a viable, cost-effective system that’s not only visionary, but practical. By leveraging a passive infrastructure and shifting the complexity within the capsule, Swisspod’s strategic approach provides unique advantages:

• Cost-effectiveness: Expensive materials like copper or electromagnets are not needed and infrastructure-related maintenance costs reduced
• Resilience: Allows for independent troubleshooting without disrupting operations
• Efficiency: Eliminates issues at rail-level
• Safety: Self-contained capsules that prevent operator errors and enhance safety

Proving the System Works & Breaking World Records

Starting small and scaling wisely, Swisspod has prioritized efficiency, rapid iterations, and testing. In partnership with EPFL and HEIG-VD, the company built the world’s first and only closed-loop operational Hyperloop testing facility in Lausanne, Switzerland, fully funded by the Swiss Government. This infinite test track allows for rapid prototyping of core technologies, including propulsion and levitation.

The results? The company and its partners broke the world record for the longest Hyperloop journey, completing an 11.8 km ride, scalable to 141.6 km in a full system — approximately the stretch between Geneva and Bern. The highest speed recorded was 40.7 km/h, translating to 488.2 km/h at full scale.

In parallel, Swisspod is constructing its second testing facility — the full-scale model — at the Pueblo Plex campus in Colorado, USA. This elliptical facility, inspired by its Swiss predecessor, will span about 162,000 square meters — nearly 3 times the size of the Louvre and 7 times the base area of the Colosseum.  Testing here begins next year, bringing us closer to a functional Hyperloop network.

Hyperloop — A  Reality in Progress

Now imagine traveling from Geneva to Zurich in just 17 minutes, Lausanne to Lugano in 20 minutes, or Bern to Lucerne in under 10 minutes. This is the future Swisspod envisions: a world where cities are seamlessly connected through carbon-neutral, high-speed networks. This isn’t just about convenience or innovation. This is about freedom, collaboration, empowering people, and building a prosperous future for the next generations.

The transportation systems of yesterday are no match for the challenges of today, and Swisspod is paving the way for a new era of mobility, one that is faster, greener, and smarter. From Switzerland’s infinite loop to Colorado’s full-scale facility, the company is proving that Hyperloop is more than an idea; it’s a reality in the making. The question is no longer IF Hyperloop will transform the world, but WHEN.