‍Zina Jarrahi Cinker  0:00  

Hello everyone, we're sitting on fancy chairs.

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Andres de Leon  0:08  

Okay.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  0:11  

Okay, we need a fire though. 

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Hyperloop Video  0:16  

Introducing a new era in cargo transportation efficient and autonomous, Hyperloop integrated ports, capable of airplane speeds at freight costs. Moving containers hundreds of kilometers in minutes instead of ours with zero emissions. Drastically reducing port congestion, pollution and footprint. Reclaiming valuable waterfront property and moving ports inland. Resistant to all weather conditions, transporting 2800 containers a day on a single line system. A fully connected sustainable system for balanced logistics. Revolutionising cross continental commerce….

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  1:21  

Did we get cut off or….?

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Hyperloop Video  1:23  

Imagine. Imagine a capsule. Imagine a capsule that can carry people. Placed inside a depressurized tube, the air removed to eliminate resistance, not traveling on rails, but actually levitating above them. Capable of reaching airplane speeds and beyond on the ground. This is a Hyperloop and it is amazing. Even more amazing at Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, we haven't been imagining we've been building for the better part of five years. And amazing is where we started. We're transforming the passenger experience putting comfort and safety at the center of everything we're doing. Our reimagined linear electric motor is powered by sustainable solar energy, propelling the capsule on a completely new, incredibly efficient passive levitation system. With these two breakthroughs, our system is capable of giving energy back to the grid. And when something didn't exist, we invented it. Introducing Vibranium, a composite material that monitors speed, capsule integrity and atmospheric condition in real time, a new benchmark and passenger safety. And we're not done. Our team of over 800 strong a worldwide intellectual ecosystem of thinkers and problem solvers tackle each day with the humble goal of changing the world. With its speed and efficiency, the Hyperloop will rewrite the rules of travel and mobility. But that's just one side of the story. There's another side that will have a far greater impact. It's the side that redefines how we connect with one another. Where distant friends become neighbors, countries become neighborhoods. And everybody who inhabits this big crazy world of ours grows a little closer together. Just imagine that.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  3:28  

Wow. Andres. This is a magnificent vision and also a marvel of engineering. How do you bring so many different pieces of technology together in such a short period of time?

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Andres de Leon  3:41  

Well, you know, when we started, when Elon created the white paper, he said that he had no time to develop it and encouraged other companies to do it. We're part of an incubator funded with NASA and given an institute  to build companies in a completely different way to build companies using crowdsourcing. What does he mean, people working in exchange for equity of the project. So we thought that this was a great opportunity to test the model. We put it in a platform, we have immediately 200 centers around the wall, and people are engineers that they are interested. And long story short, today, we have more than 800 people, we have more than 50 companies collaborating with us, all of them working together, you know, in the different pieces of this system. So I'm basically I think that that is what really has allowed us to develop the concept so fast. We're ready to build, okay, and we're ready to build in six year, what normally, if you do it in, if you do it alone, if you don't understand that there is a lot of things that you don't need to reinvent the wheel that are there is technologies that you can apply, okay, that would take you much more time now. And, you know, it's a big, big crowdsourcing effort. We have been defined by Harvard Business School, like the biggest platform, crowdsourcing platform in the world and a new way of building companies. And we are very proud of that, because, you know, it's not about what are we doing, but how are we doing it? You know, personally, that's the part I like more about the whole project.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  5:15  

It's quite interesting. And maybe that's why you're here and PUZZLE X today. Yeah, yes. Okay, those of us who have a piece of the puzzle, these guys got the platform. Okay, Vibranium, superhero stuff, right? You guys have something called Vibranium? What is Vibranium?

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Andres de Leon  5:33  

Well, you know, according to Marvel it is the hardest material in the world. Okay. But, you know, Vibranium is material that we developed which is like a two composite layers, with integrated sensors. When we approach, you know, for us materials is an important part of this, that's what I really like about this, and you may well have been talking about this quite a lot now. When we approach how do we develop the product? And of course, in our system, you have a lot of different products, you know, we think that pyramid. And we try to innovate in all the parts of the pyramid, you know, we try to innovate in the user experience in the iOS, we tend to innovate in the software, because at the end, there is new ways of calling, new technologies, retain things that are there you know, that can help you in the framework, the hardware, we try to understand, you know, what are the latest manufacturing techniques and all that. And at the end, when we arrive right to the base of the pyramid, we have the materials. For us the materials, we have a kind of a different approach to the materials, instead of trying to think, this is the product and we need this material, because normally has been manufactured with this, we go completely the opposite. We analyze, we scout around the world, we see what kind of new materials are coming. Of course, always with an idea of materials as a circular, that you know allows for better sustainability, or better cost efficiencies. And then we say, okay, what can we do with this? And then we put it together with what we need. And you know, of course, sometimes this is not black and white, sometimes it is the opposite. The process of design is always very open. But I think that that has allowed us to really work on understanding all the new opportunities that you have, and not giving anything by tradition, or because it was there, trying to change it.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  7:35  

I really like that. That's not a traditional model at all. usually we look at the problems we have, and then we go and source out a solution that might be there might be a little bit on the edge, more innovative, but you guys are doing it and you end up with Vibranium. Where's Vibranium used, and you've told me this before, but really, I am curious?

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Andres de Leon  7:53  

Well it’s used in the capsule. We basically thought that we needed to have a capsule that was, you know, as lightweight as possible. So we basically did all the capsule with composites, but we wanted to create some kind of redundancy, because at the end of the day, we're talking about a new mode of transportation. So you know, we need to be sure that everything works. And we say in Spain, we tried to go with a belt and suspenders. And on top of that, of course, you know, you are doing this in the 21st century now. So you have all these capabilities to integrate sensors. So basically, we integrate sensors around the capsule, I think that has around 70 to 80 sensors integrated, you know, to be sure of what’s happening there. And that concept also, there is nothing new there. Now, the world is working on smart infrastructure scenes to help monitoring these kinds of things now, but you know, we just applied.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  8:57  

Quite exciting and you and I have been talking about this. So we want PUZZLE X to be the first collision grounds of frontier materials and Sustainable Development Goals, right. It’s technology for a purpose, even from the point of inception. What about Hyperloops method of thinking about the future, and sustainability? How is it going to impact the world?

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Andres de Leon  9:23  

Well, you know, this very good question. Because, you know, for us from the beginning, we try to create modes of transport that basically, first of all, drastically improve the passenger experience. Second, it is efficient, is economically viable, so doesn't rely on public subsidies, you know. All around the world we are spending millions and millions, you know, of dollars and euros in supporting our old infrastructure. And third, and very important, that it was fully sustainable. And sustainability lately for us is not just about, well what first of all we were working with very, very hard to have our passive magnetic levitation system that allows you to levitate with very low consumption of energy, we are creating a backbone environment. So we don't have friction. 90% of the energy consumption rate is coming from the friction from the aerodynamics. So at the end, we have a system that is really, you know, it's very low consumption and even more important, when you go faster, you don't have that exponential use of energy, like in other modes of transport. But in addition to that, from the beginning, we say, well, look, we have this right away, it will have this amazing right away, that is very hard to get, you know, let's use it, you know, let's put solar panels on top, let's generate energy too. And in all the studies that we have done, for instance, in Great Lakes in the state that we did for Cleveland, and Chicago, Pittsburgh, the connection we're generating between five to 15%, depending on the moment of the year, more energy than we consume. And of course, because the energy is renewable, at the end of the day, from the point of view of operations Hyperloop TT system is CO2 neutral. But again, that doesn't finalize there, because sustainability is all about how do you adapt the infrastructure to the terrain? How do you, you don't create new problems? How do you allow animals and people to go from one place to the other, you know, you don't cut the territory into two? How do you do it very flexibly? So you don't need to cut the mountains in the middle, these kinds of things. And finally, again, the supply chain, or the value chain materials, and we'll come back to materials, that, of course, is the part that you love.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  11:44  

You're my favorite Fireside Chat partner, so you bring it back to materials, give it to us. 

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Andres de Leon  11:49  

So to bring it back to materials, you know, I think, look, a lot of people talk about SDGs and people talk about sustainability. But I'd say that this is in our DNA, you know, I think we can use green still. And I understand the challenge, okay, I've been managing industrial corporations. I know what it is, you know, to completely change your production methods and your technology to arrive there is not going to be like that, okay. But I think that we need to bet on that. Now, we need to bet on materials that are circular, we need to bet the materials that are recyclable, and we need to bet on materials that have the lowest impact possible, you know, in our plan, and we're working on that.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  12:32  

It's fascinating, I have one more question for you. What's the experience like walking into a Hyperloop?

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Andres de Leon  12:38  

Well, look, hopefully, and let's say like that, because for that we have been working, you know, it's going to be an experience that is very seamless. We have been working in really creating a seamless experience, okay. So we would like that when you arrive at the station, basically you have done the whole job. You are able to arrive there with a contactless experience where you don't have to stop by the ticket to talk with anybody. And then when you are inside, it's not going to be very different than being in an airplane, being completely honest. I said that you don't have windows, you have augmented windows. So you know, you can decide if you wanna see what is outside or you want to see Jurassic Park in the meantime, and things like that. But you know, the most important thing is, and by the way, this is a very, very good question, because I think that is today or tomorrow, we are releasing our first approach to the passenger to the interior of our capsule. So you will see some press releases and some news about this. And believe me if I told you that, again, one of our goals was to drastically improve the passenger experience. So personal experience, sustainability, and efficiency and economical viability data are the three pillars where we have been organizing all this and developing our concept.

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  14:06  

Do I have an invite to get on the first Hyperloop?

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Andres de Leon  14:09  

Definitely, definitely! We will wait for you

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  14:13  

Thank you. Okay, so I do have an invite. Everybody heard it. Andre, thank you so much for your time. It's been a pleasure not only talking with you in the past few months, but also having you on the stage. Thank you for joining us!

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Andres de Leon  14:24  

Thank you for having me here!

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Zina Jarrahi Cinker  14:27  

Absolutely. Please. Thank our wonderful speaker!

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