ArcelorMittal contributes to Zeleros’ test track construction in Sagunto Port to demonstrate Zeleros hyperloop technology and boost port logistics

Zeleros lays the first stone of the test track for the SELF-Booster (Sustainable Electric Freight-forwarder), a pilot project that will demonstrate Zeleros’ hyperloop technology and its application to automated and fully electric container handling.

Picture credits: © Zeleros

It will consist of a test track that will automatically move through a fully electric linear motor a vehicle from 0 up to 120 km/h and back to stop in 100 meters. ArcelorMittal is proud to bring its highly valued Global R&D expertise in the field of steel, more specifically in the high-efficiency electrical steels required for this project and high added-value long products for the rails.

The collaboration between Zeleros and ArcelorMittal is a co-engineering project for the design of a linear motor and its integration into a support structure. A challenging R&D task indeed, due to the high-level, pulsating forces the linear motor needs to develop, in an energy-efficient way. The project involves electromagnetic evaluation of different electrical steel options, as well as the definition and mechanical design of an adequate structure to allow for proper movement of cargo, without degradation of the machine performance. Within this structure, rails provide a guidance function. Thanks to this collaboration, ArcelorMittal Europe - Long products, Rails & Special Sections has developed new products with improved guiding performance to be integrated into the SELF-Booster test track. The combination of high wear resistance properties along with customized geometry fulfils the need for tight tolerances of the propulsion system.

The multidisciplinary ArcelorMittal team for the structural, mechanical and electromagnetic aspects, proves the strength of our approach for such complex innovative projects, both in defining new products and in developing new solutions.

Zeleros, the European pioneer in the hyperloop arena, has raised strong public and private industrial support to accelerate the development of the key technologies that will make hyperloop a reality to connect cities at 1000km/h with zero direct emissions.

One of Zeleros’ key technologies is the linear motor, which is like a rotating motor but unfolded. Powered by electricity and thanks to electromagnetic fields, it can move objects with high accuracy at any designed speed. Zeleros has been lab-testing for years a special type of it called the “switched reluctance linear motor” with the Spanish research center CIEMAT, which has proven to be an optimal solution for hyperloop to reach ultra-high-speeds, but also for applications at lower speeds and heavy loads, such as Zeleros’ SELF.

This system will be demonstrated in pre-commercial conditions at the SELF-Booster pilot project, which will become fully operational by 2022. It will consist of a test track that will automatically move through a fully electric linear motor a vehicle from 0 up to 120 km/h and back to stop in 100 meters.


Zeleros begins construction in Sagunto to demonstrate its hyperloop technology for ports

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