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Summary
- Richard Branson-funded Virgin Hyperloop has successfully completed the world’s first-ever human ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system.
- Stocks of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings jumped over 11 per cent on Monday
- Canadian company TransPod Inc is working with the Alberta government to build a multi-billion-dollar high-speed transportation option in the province.
Hyperloop transport became the talk of the town on Sunday, November 8, after the world saw its first high-speed levitating pod system experiment with human passengers. The test was conducted by Los Angeles-based company Virgin Hyperloop, which is funded by business magnate Sir Richard Branson.
In Canada, Toronto-based startup Transpod Inc is pursuing hyperloop transport quite seriously.
The concept of a hyperloop system was proposed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in 2012. Later, companies such as Virgin Hyperloop, TransPod, Hyper Poland, Arrivo, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, etc took inspiration from Musk’s proposal to work on a commercialized hyperloop transportation system. As of now, a full-scale commercial project is yet to be a reality.
Virgin Hyperloop
Super-fast transportation tech company Virgin Hyperloop hit headlines on Sunday, November 8, after it successfully completed the world’s first-ever human ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system. The passengers onboard were Virgin Hyperloop’s Director of Passenger Experience Sara Luchian and its Chief Technology Officer Josh Giegel.
The hyperloop system, which functions on magnetic levitation and can reportedly complete a trip from New York to Washington in 30 minutes, hit speeds of up to 107 miles per hour during Sunday’s test. The company said that the test was conducted at its DevLoop test site in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Formerly known as Hyperloop Technologies and Hyperloop One, the company’s idea germinated from a discussion between Elon Musk and Iranian American investor Shervin Pishevar in 2012. Fast forward to October 2017, Hyperloop One announced that the company is entering a strategic investment partnership with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Branson also joined its board of directors and rebranded the company as Virgin Hyperloop One.
In June this year, the company changed its name again to Virgin Hyperloop.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Stock Performance (NYSE:SPCE)
Current Stock Price: US$ 19.03
Stocks of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holdings jumped over 11 per cent on Monday, November 9. The company garnered an average share trading volume of 15.16 million in the last 30 days.
Virgin Galactic shares registered a growth of nearly 65 per cent this year. After soaring to their highest level so far this year in February, its scrips tumbled during the COVID-triggered market crash in March.
Its stock price dropped over five per cent in the last six months, but rebounded over four per cent in the last three months.
Virgin Galactic Holdings Q3 2020 Results
Virgin Galactic Holdings released its third quarter results on Thursday, November 6, reporting cash and cash equivalents of US$742 million as of September 2020.
The company incurred a net loss of US$77 million in Q3 2020, significantly lower from that of US$ 63 million in Q2 2020.
Its adjusted EBITDA stood at a loss of US$ 66 million in Q3 2020, compared to that of US$ 54 million in the Q2 2020. The company said that its cash paid for capital expenditures was US$ 4 million in the latest quarter, as against US$ 6 million in Q2 2020.
TransPod Inc
While American company Virgin Hyperloop is making new records, Canada’s TransPod Inc is also pursuing the similar dream of ultra high-speed transportation. Founded in 2015, TransPod is focused in developing hyperloop system called the TransPod system.
Back in August, the company announced signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Alberta government to build a multi-billion-dollar high-speed transportation option in Alberta for both passengers and goods. The project, a hyperloop system, is to be based on the 1000 km/h TransPod vehicle and is expected to create up to 38,000 jobs over 10 years. It also promises to cut down the province’s carbon emissions by up to 300,000 tons per year.
The Alberta government is also reportedly supporting TransPods study to find out the feasibility of connecting Edmonton and Calgary with a hyperloop system.
TransPod Financials
TransPod secured a seed funding of US$ 15 million from an Italian tech holding group called Angelo Investments in November 2016. The funding, the company said, was set aside to be focused on its “increased global growth”.
TransPod also entered a partnership with aviation equipment supplier Liebherr-Aerospace in June 2017. The partnership was aimed at supporting the research and development of cabin and vehicle thermal systems for TransPod’s hyperloop vehicle.
The Canadian hyperloop company announced in 2019 that it is starting the constructions of a track in France for research and test purposes. The European Union has also reportedly approved a million-dollar funding in subsidies for TransPod’s research and development activities in two European locations.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic reportedly delayed the constructions this year.
