Venice could see Hyperloop in place by 2030

The winning consortium, known as Hyper Builders, is led by Hyperloop Italia, a subsidiary of US-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT). Hyperloop Italia teamed up with Italian engineering firms Webuild, Leonardo and RINA to complete the Hyper Builders team. The consortium won the tender from the Venetian Motorway Concession (CAV), Italy’s regional highway operator, in May 2023.

Known as ‘Hyper Transfer’, the project will roll out in multiple phases, kicking off with a feasibility and environmental study. The system will then be built out in stages to fully connect the cities of Venice (Mestre) and Padua, reducing transport times and enhancing the Veneto regions interconnections.

“Italy put out the request for organisations to apply to bid on a hyperloop project budgeted at 800M euros,” said HyperloopTT CEO Andrés de León.

“We approached the project by teaming up with some of Italy's biggest industrial players including Webuild and Leonardo, as we knew this would strengthen our credibility with the Italian government. In May of 2023, we were informed that we had won the tender and the contract to kick off phase one of the project was officially signed by CAV and Webuild this week.”

The initial tender was issued on March 29, 2022 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure, CAV, and the region of Veneto, with a timeline to study, select, plan, then implement a sustainable high-speed solution. While details around the project’s specifications are lacking, de León said he expects the Venice-Padua Hyper Transfer to be fully operational by the end of the decade.

“According to the phase structure outlined in the tender the contract's duration is six years,” he said. “We anticipate having a fully functional system up and running prior to its end."