There is no possibility of starting high speed Hyperloop Train in India at present. NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat said this on Sunday. Saraswat said that this technology is currently at a ‘very low level’ of maturity and is not even economically viable at the moment.
Saraswat is heading a committee formed to explore the technical and commercial feasibility of Virgin Hyperloop technology. He said that some foreign companies have shown interest in bringing this technology to India. In an interview, Saraswat said, ‘As far as we are concerned, regarding hyperloop technology, we found that the proposals that came from abroad are not very viable options. They are at a very low level of technology maturity.
VK Saraswat said, ‘That is why we have not given much importance to it till date. This is just a study program. I do not think that hyperloop technology will be included in our transportation infrastructure in the near future.
What is hyperloop train?
Hyperloop is a ‘high-speed’ train, which runs in a vacuum in a tube. This technology is proposed by Elon Musk, who owns electric car company Tesla and space transportation company SpaceX. The Virgin Hyperloop test was conducted on November 9, 2020, with a pod on a 500-meter track in Las Vegas, USA. There was an Indian and other passengers in it. Its speed was more than 161 kilometers per hour.
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After all, what is the problem?
According to Saraswat, the level of maturity of technology in the offerings that have come so far is quite low. Saraswat said that we cannot invest in this kind of technology. Virgin Hyperloop is one of a handful of companies trying to build such a system for passenger transportation.
On the question of India’s dependence on lithium imports from China, Saraswat said that as of today, the production of lithium ion batteries in India is very less, hence we are dependent on China and other sources for this.
What is China’s connection?
He said that we are more dependent on China because China’s batteries are cheap. He mentioned that India has given incentives to set up battery manufacturing facilities in the country. Saraswat said, “Hopefully next year you will have some business houses who will come forward to manufacture lithium-ion batteries on a large scale in the country”.
Let us tell you that about 75 percent of lithium-ion is imported from China. On reports of India talking to Chile and Bolivia for lithium mining, Saraswat said there was a suggestion that India should go for acquisition of some mining facilities in Chile, Argentina and other places.
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Tags: Bullet train, Indian railway, NITI Aayog
FIRST PUBLISHED : November 5, 2023, 3:02 pm IST
