"Sustainable high-speed transportation" with Rob Miller CMO Hyperloop TT | Interviews with Chris EP3

Show Video

so welcome everyone to this future-proof container  terminal episode today we got an interesting guest   Rob Miller currently Chief Marketing Officer  for hyperloop transportation technologies well   known as hyperloop tt and i will describe why  interesting it's not only due to his passion for   transportation but also due to his background  in neuroscience and you know especially these   days as we're hearing a lot about uh hyperloop  technologies it would be awesome to hear from you   uh what is all this about uh how this  technology will be interacting with the   current infrastructure and the most important one  how this technology will change our way of working   so without being said rob welcome to the virtual  stage chris thanks it's a pleasure to be here   look forward to this conversation great drop  so the plan for today is that uh i have been   putting together some questions uh around  this this technology and uh you feel free   to share your thoughts lesson learns during this  this journey and uh yeah if that is okay for you   let's go for it so rob how i always like to  ask this question so how would you describe   terminal operations in in one word how do  we describe terminal operations in one word   from our perspective uh overloaded is a  overloaded efficient is another good word but   but uh where we're coming from  we're looking at it as overloaded   and rob do you see this overload is because  uh infrastructure uh you know basically is   the same over the years um you know due to the  constant changes or can you share your thoughts you for for us we look at the we look at the  growth and i mean 90 of global trade today is   conducted at sea and in the past 50 years we've  seen a 1400 percent increase in in ship capacity   that doesn't seem to be slowing down so  we're we're looking at how you know what   opportunities we have to to further add efficiency  and optimize and and speed to the to the terminal   interesting so rob jumping into the into the main  questions for today's session so you know once   i sing on the hyperloop the first things that  come into my mind is speed and i think that's   not not only me but many of my colleagues  who will probably have this same thought so   could you tell a little bit more about what is  all this technology about yeah so i think it might   be beneficial to go back for a second to really  understand what hyperloop is uh because we when   you say hyperloop i think probably we have if we  ask people 20 different thoughts would come across   with that one word so we have this one loaded  word uh hyperloop is actually a concept that   you can it dates back to all the way back to  the 1850s where we had two gentlemen in in   new york trying to build a pneumatic tube  underground system uh and london as well   the first uh the first patent for a hyperloop  system it goes all the way back to the the early   1900s robert goddard i think 1918 1919 um for for  this kind of train in a train in a tube system so   it it's not it's not a new phenomenon it's  just we finally have the technology and the   think the will to put it together so what is  what is hyperloop we started in in 2013 after   elon musk released his output paper because he saw  the price tag for this high-speed rail from los   angeles to san francisco and wanted to wanted  to make a change thought there was a better way   so hyperloop essentially is we we take a we take  a capsule or you know the it looks like a lot like   an airplane fuselage you put it in the tube you  reduce the pressure to between 10 to 100 pascal   you add a next generation magnetic levitation  system uh and you get uh you get airplane speeds   on the ground for with zero emissions that's  completely sustainable and for passengers we've   been working a long time in the passenger space  you're talking about the cost of a metro ticket   or a train ticket or sometimes even a bus ticket  so that's the that's the promise of hyperloop   the technologies as you you may ask is this is  this a okay what futuristic technologies are   using and the answer is not really there's not  really anything that doesn't exist today so this   is all existing technologies and it's really  that no one has has put them together before   and we finally have the the the will and the  opportunity to to do that interesting the   background you share rob and uh i really like how  you in a few words describe this hyperloop concept   and uh but i may say yeah it looks simple but  it's totally a journey and uh somehow you have to   figure out the formula to make it work these days  but um coming back to our main question so how   can humanity rob benefit from from this type of of  technology especially these days that you know we   are facing um these climate change challenges so  can you tell a little bit more about what are the   main benefit of the hyperloop i think it's it's  the it's a few things i mean one we need to think   about sustainability because we we took a look  and we're polluting way too much in transportation   we took a look when the world slowed down a  little over a year ago when we stopped moving   from place to place the environmental benefit  the world had here in here in my town in los   angeles we had the cleanest air in the u.s for a  few days there were towns in the in the himalayas   that saw the sorry the times in india that saw  the himalayas for the first time in 30 years you   know we're losing months and years of our lives to  pollution caused by transportation and we have the   opportunity to reboot and build sustainable  transportation systems so that's that's one   obviously people when when we talk about hyperloop  they want to talk about speed you can travel the   speed of sound you can travel airplane speeds  on the ground and obviously that's a that's a   major benefit but it's really it's really not only  speed but it's efficiency as well so we believe   we can build profitable transportation systems  um which means that mass transportation is not   is not subsidized by the government but and it  can be built in public traffic partnerships and   this combination of sustainability speed and  efficiency are the real benefits of we think   of the hype the pipeline system interesting drop  and i really like to mention this sustainability   topic but at the same time it will be profitable  and i really like because it's a balance between   those and well you know i am involved in the  terminal design uh aspect of container terminals   and uh sustainability is on top of the priorities  for many uh leadership teams uh worldwide and   robbie coming back to the hyperloop technology  you know uh how about the current state of this   technology is something that the we will see this  more and more in the next five years or probably   uh sooner than those five years so could you  chill a little bit more what is the current   state of the development for this technology  right you're you're because you're asking when   can i ride a hyperloop or when can i ship  the container by hyperloop so the the where   we are today is we've built a full-scale  a full-scale prototype in toulouse france   um on the passenger side we're we're moving  forward with the certification center the first   five to ten kilometers of of a hype loop that  that you and i can ride uh on the freight   side we've we launched in 2018 this project  hyperport with hhla the operator out of hamburg   and you know we're we're announcing next steps  we've we just released the the designs we're   announcing next steps at the its world congress  in october but the reality is that whether it's by   people or or goods this hyperloop is not a  futuristic project this is happening today   it's not a matter of it's not a matter  of if anymore chris it's a matter of   really when and the when is it's not  it's not decades away this is years so   uh we're we're looking at transporting  people in goods by the end of the 2020s   yeah you mentioned really interesting points here  rob so you mentioned that the hyperloop will be   dedicated not only for transportation of cargo but  also transportation of passengers and i may expect   you know you're facing quite many challenges on  both sides but coming back into the transportation   side uh you know once terminal operators invest  in port equipment somehow those equipment will be   within the port boundaries or we see that within  the terminal boundaries but um i may say that the   for the hyperloop is even more challenging  because you will be interacting with the   terminal equipment somehow you will be also you  know interacting with public streets probably   uh subways highways among many others so could  you share a little bit more about what what are   the drivers to invest in the hyperloop yeah i mean  absolutely think that you know you look at a few a   few drivers one is that um you know the congestion  at the ports the ports are are generally high   value real estate especially by the water a lot of  them are adjacent to urban environments so you get   you get a multiplier and traffic if we can bring  those if we can bring that system inland there are   there are numerous benefits both for the you know  everyone and everyone in your world but for the   the city for the state for the country as well  so i mean we're talking about this something that   that is is challenging it would require uh a  public-private partnership in in most places   but the benefits to the benefits to society it  goes beyond uh you know it goes beyond um you   know one company or a handful of companies this  this potentially is is good for for all citizens   fully agree with europe and uh you know we are  both passionate about transportation and you know   on a daily basis we are both solving puzzles and  we love to solve puzzles but though when it comes   to the terminals you know these days they are  quite greenfield uh terminals worldwide most of   them are brownfield and you know i am supporting  customers on this echo efficiency and automation   journey and there is like a no one size fit  all solutions so it's like case by case and   i can expect it's the same for the hyperloop so  could you share your your thoughts on how the   hyperloop will be interacting with this current  infrastructure yeah absolutely if you hit on a   really critical point um you know we're we're  likely going to fail if we don't engineer to   to current industry standards so you know our  solution it's it's a it's a plug-and-play solution   um the capsules are completely capable of  accommodating the weight and dimensions of of   either two 20-foot standard containers or 140 or  45-foot container or or a high cube container so   it is it is plug and play  into into today's technology it's really interesting rob that you got on the  table this this point here that you need to be   aware of what is the current standard in the  industry so you will be able to to adapt and   interact with this current uh port infrastructure  or equipment but uh you know rob have you already   identified like a chose topper you know something  like if you don't address it now you will you know   totally uh disrupt your your current deployment  plans so i think it's it's really about investing   it's really about the opportunity to invest in  the future right so if you take the the port   of hamburg the the port of hamburg is you know  where we our partner holla there i mean it's a   for me visiting there for the first time the level  of automation and the level of innovation within   the port system was incredible uh you know  it's now been it's not been a few years since   since we first first started having conversations  and and you know however it kind of ended at the   at the gate of the port where we where there was  a 45 minute backup of of trucks waiting to waiting   to be loaded all right and so automation can can  help there to an extent but you're still there's   still that there's so a few choke points within  the system that we we really have the opportunity   to innovate and address and this is an industry  that you know is is uh you know really obsessed   with innovation so i think that um you know  we we've talked about it we talked about the   you know the the trends in automation the tren  and and um being able to being able to provide   an opportunity to um have a new technology here  that can uh you know that can provide 10x benefits   is is one that is one that i a lot of  people are really excited about considering   i fully agree with you and this is awesome  when you achieve this this sweet spot   between the you know technology  and people and you see   how automation can can really improve decision  making and and you can reach those efficiencies   you are looking for but you know rob uh part of  my my job is also to to support customers on the   uh you know not only identifying which is  the best uh handling concept or or solution   but it's also about putting on the table uh  you know supporting them on creating business   case for each type of solution so having clear  what will be the capex opex and royce you know   and uh it will be interesting if you can share  a little bit more about uh have you already   put the numbers on the table you know when we  talk about automation especially the capex is   something that the we need to carefully evaluate  so could you share a little bit more about what   is your approach regarding the hybrid of solution  yeah absolutely we you know we've done we've done   and you know this is a new piece of infrastructure  right so we are we are adding we're adding a piece   of infrastructure to the to the current system  so the economics have to work we've done a lot of   work in the in the passenger case from uh detailed  feasibility studies we've done feasibility studies   in a few continents in the world we just  we completed two years ago a multi-state   feasibility study from chicago cleveland  pittsburgh so we're done by a third party and   the the numbers came back uh extremely promising  for for hyper port we've done the internal we've   done the internal work um the next step is and  we'll be talking more about this in october is to   is to be doing this doing feasibility studies  and talking to port operators around the world   about that that cost that cost benefit ratio so  it's it's a critical point and i th there'll be   more that we'll be announcing a bit later but  um you know what from what we've seen internally   uh the uh you know there's there's ben if the  benefit outweighs the the cost really interesting   drop and uh that you got this cost benefit and you  are quite aware of it and uh i will be keeping an   eye on those results you will be uh sharing based  on your studies and development so really really   really interesting topic here but uh you know we  are almost reaching an end to this uh rob and uh   i would like to to hear from you what are the  next steps uh for the for the hyperloop uh tt   development so we've uh you know we've released  a we released a design concept video which is a   simplified version of our of our hyperport system  um we'll be participating at the its event the   its world congress event uh in october in hamburg  i'm provided that we still still have an event um   there we've we've put the full the fully fully  engineered or the pre-commercialization system   into virtual reality and um we'll be announcing  the kind of the next steps the next steps there so   anyone in the industry who's planning on attending  the the its world congress you can visit us at the   the hhla hhla space and you'll be able to see to  see this this the engineered version of this in in   in virtual reality awesome and it's really cool  that the you're using all the technology available   to show off the capabilities of the hyperloop and  yeah i hope we can meet at hamburg on october and   uh you know before closing drop i got this  question here and um do you believe hyperloop will   be something that we will see only on developed  countries or you're expecting this can be deployed   worldwide yeah i think this is this is  not a it's not a technology for the rich   or um or for developed countries only you think  you can think of the the the leapfrog benefit   of of you know adding to new technologies  into into developing countries as well so   our interest is rain the interest we've received  so far is really worldwide it's not it's not   isolated to one or one or a handful of countries  so i think that um the benefit of hyperloop is a   it's not a it's not a it's not a you know single  country or a single nation it's it's really a   human the human benefits so i think we'll  see we'll see it adopted around the world uh you joined this session um you know for all  of us involved in the in the terminal operation   uh not only on the design but also on  the commercial aspect infrastructure   uh civil and many other aspects  involved in the in the industry   is is really interesting to to be aware of all  these technologies and you know how they will   be changing especially our way of working so i  really appreciate these and as i told you before   uh hope to see you in in future episodes when the  development are uh you know almost there when we   can as i told you right on a hyperloop so really  really appreciate your time thanks chris it was an   absolute pleasure enjoyed the conversation thanks  rob so hope you like this session with rob miller   really interesting thoughts uh i really like how  he described the hyperloop in such few words and   i am aware that even though he's playing it  quite in the simple way uh there is a huge   complexity behind and you know somehow they need  to make all this work and uh we touch interesting   topic especially on how this technology will  be uh interacting with with current uh port   infrastructure so i think they got many challenges  uh in ahead but for sure they will overcome those   so let me know in the comments below what what  you consider will be some of those challenges   uh how you're expecting this technology will  change our way of working in in the terminals and   as always don't forget to like  share and subscribe to our channel you

2021-10-07 23:42

Show Video

Other news