Project detailsx

Client: Team Delft Hyperloop V
Location: Delft, The Netherlands
Year: 2020-2021
Material: Carbon twill weave en epoxy hars
Details: Holland Composites is one of the sponsors of team Delft Hyperloop V. Our experienced laminating experts taught the building team members how to laminate a skin layer onto a mould. Thus, from their own hands emerged an extremely strong, very lightweight pod, with which they successfully competed in the annual European Hyperloop Challenge in Valencia, Spain.

Team Delft Hyperloop V consists of 35 students from different studies at Delft University of Technology. The Delft Hyperloop project is already in its fifth year. The team of academic year 2020-2021 now has the desire and task of proving the technical and commercial viability of the Hyperloop concept.

The team developed a new design for the pod. Before they could build it from carbon, they first had a fully 3D printed model made. With this, they came to Holland Composites to learn from our long-time laminating experts how to make a skin layer on this, through which the final pod is created.

The engineers of the future learned this with great enthusiasm and, above all, very quickly! After only two days, the work was finished and the whole pod could harden under vacuum. The pod was then ready to be put through the next steps in the design and construction process.

Despite the fact that the corona pandemic still rules the world, the team still managed to travel to Valencia at the end of July for the European Hyperloop Week. They did this in grand fashion, as they took their 30-metre track with them! By demonstrating the entire system to the judges, they hoped to convince them why they should win. And with success: they won two of the six awards!

Besides the “Mechanical Award” (for the new hydraulic braking system) and the “Full-Scale Award” (for the Scalability Team’s efforts), the jury also rewarded the team with the “Jury’s Choice Award”. This is because the jury was very impressed with the efforts of this year’s Delft Hyperloop team.

Our laminating experts were happy to share their years of knowledge about ultra-strong, super lightweight composite products with the engineers of the future. Holland Composites is very proud that they have achieved such great results with their self-built pod.