Special Delivery: Norway to Try Transport Hyperloop for Salmon

SINTEF, Scandinavia's largest independent research organization, is planning to build a test hyperloop facility in Trøndelag county to see whether salmon can be delivered by the high-speed transport capsule.

The idea behind the hyperloop is that both passengers and goods can be transported swiftly in tubes using a vacuum. Hermetically sealed, there is no resistance for the capsules used in high-speed transportation that is both breathtakingly fast and eco-friendly.

Unlike previously announced ambitious projects involving a passenger hyperloop link between Norway and Denmark, SINTEF's persuasion is that capsule traffic is best suited for freight transport. Therefore, it seeks to investigate the possibility of using the hyperloop for lightning-fast salmon deliveries, the Adresseavisen daily reported.

"We want to build a research laboratory, a test facility to the tune of an estimated NOK 200 million [$24 million]," SINTEF business developer Thor Myklebust said. "At a speed of up to 1,200 kilometers per hour, fresh Norwegian salmon can in theory be sent from Trøndelag directly to Paris, 1,400 kilometers away, in just over an hour," he expanded.

SINTEF is a firm believer in Norway's invaluable expertise owing to its experience in subsea oil pipelines, know-how that may be utilized to develop the hyperloop, particularly in reference to Norway's most important export project.

"If there is any country in the world that is good at pipes, it's just Norway. We have been in the pipeline business for 60 years. Norwegian trade environments and competence are thus very relevant for the establishment and operation of the hyperloop," SINTEF researcher Terje Kristensen told the Dagbladet daily.

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Today, there are several companies elaborating hyperloop technologies, with Virgin Hyperloop One arguably in the lead, having a test track in the state of Nevada. After visiting this facility, SINTEF staff became even more inspired in their quest.

"In Nevada, we realized that it's the global elite of researchers and engineers involved in this work. Virgin Hyperloop One has up to 13,000 job seekers. Among them, there are the best from NASA, Space-X, Tesla and Google. The high level of competence among the employees, as well as the interest of investors, makes us believe that the hyperloop is much more than just a pipe dream," Kristensen said, suggesting that 2018 will be an exciting year for the project.

​After pioneering salmon aquaculture in the 1960s, Norway remains Europe's largest supplier of farmed fish. In 2017, Norway exported 909,000 tons of salmon worth NOK 59 billion ($7 billion). Fish is the Nordic country's second leading export after petroleum products.

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