Spanish hyperloop firm Zeleros raises €7 million to accelerate development

Spanish hyperloop firm Zeleros raises €7 million to accelerate development

Aim is to establish a European hub for developing the transportation tech

Spanish Hyperloop company Zeleros has raised €7 million in financing to develop the next generation of fast mass transport.

Developing Hyperloop technology transports people in pods in tubes that are almost perfect vacuums and can potentially cut the journey time from Paris to Berlin to under an hour.

Zeleros has secured the funding from Altran, Grupo Red Eléctrica along with strategic national and international investors, including Goldacre Ventures (UK), Road Ventures (Switzerland), Plug and Play (US), and the Spanish Angels Capital and MBHA.

The funds will be used to drive ongoing development of Zeleros’ hyperloop vehicle and its core technologies.

David Pistoni, chief executive at Zeleros, said: “For Zeleros it is key to have partners of this relevance and expertise onboard.

“Their support will accelerate the development of our technologies, unlocking the path towards hyperloop-based routes and corridors in Europe and worldwide.

“These new funds will boost a major milestone of developing and demonstrating our technologies in a real environment of operation, bringing Zeleros closer to a multibillion market opportunity to be captured in the next decades”.

Pilar Rodríguez, strategy, innovation and R&D director at lead investor Altran Spain, said:

“As a world-leading engineering company, Altran acts as a technological catalyst in various strategic sectors.

“By supporting Zeleros, Altran is accelerating disruptive innovation in a sector, such as mobility, that is reinventing itself.

“With technologies like hyperloop we are changing the future of mobility.

“Altran has been collaborating with Zeleros since 2017 and will now contribute all of its experience and multidisciplinary talent to help the company accelerate the development of hyperloop technology.”

Miguel Ruiz Dealbert, chief executive at MBHA Group, added: “Our companies are committed at supporting technologies and start-ups that accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable mobility.

“Zeleros has a great potential to decarbonize intercity mobility sector, currently covered mainly by regional aviation.

“Our company ZIUR Composite Solutions will bring its wide experience in the development of complex structures of composite materials and process automation, supporting Zeleros to reduce the time of implementation and commercialisation of their technologies.”

Zeleros plans to establish a European Hyperloop Development Centre in Spain, including a three kilometre test-track to demonstrate the technology working at high speed.

It plans to accelerate the development of the hyperloop industry in Europe by creating an ecosystem of international industrial, technological and institutional partners.

Pistoni said: “Hyperloop is a great development that requires the participation of first-class players and that is why from the beginning we decided to approach our project by creating a collaborative ecosystem.

“We combine Zeleros’ talented team and technology with the global experience provided by leading organisations in sectors such as railways, aeronautics, infrastructure and electrification.”

Juan Vicén, chief marketing Officer at Zeleros, said: “This technology will be a crucial tool to strengthen the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the European Green Deal.

“Since its creation, Zeleros has been promoting the standardisation and regulation of hyperloop systems to ensure the highest level of safety and interoperability to expands the limits of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).”