It will take about a year to produce, after which it will head to the company`s R&D center in Toulouse for integration optimization and then it`ll head to the first commercial track, where construction will start later this year.
"We will be announcing one of the first commercial routes probably in between the next three to six months," Ahlborn said.
A hyperloop would work by propelling pods through a large tube at speeds of 750 mph using magnets, and is seen as a solution to long distance travel and also means of alleviating congestion. Other startups working on this technology include HTT rival Hyperloop One.
HTT has plans to build a hyperloop track in Quay Valley, California, where the company is doing an environmental study. It has also been exploring feasibility of building in countries from Indonesia to the Czech Republic. But Ahlborn said the first track will unlikely be in Quay Valley.
"(It) is a commercial project that makes sense when the city is there. Until they start construction, it doesn`t make sense for us to start there," Ahlborn said, adding it made more sense for HTT, which is largely privately backed, to focus efforts in markets where "governments actually pay us."
That`s where the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could potentially have the first operational hyperloop track. Last year, Abu Dhabi`s Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport signed the UAE`s second hyperloop feasibility study with HTT.
"The Emirates are very pushy," he said. "They want to see (the hyperloop) happen and ideally they want to see it happen in the Emirates first.
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