Hardt Hyperloop, the creator of Europe’s first operational full-scale hyperloop test facility, has secured a multi-million-euro investment. This burst of capital comes from an international business consortium led by Dutch clean-energy conglomerate Koolen Industries, as well as the German fund Freigeist Capital, several Dutch and Belgian investors, a former Uber engineer and existing backers. To date, the Delft-based start-up has raised more than 10 million euros.
With this new investment, Hardt is getting ready for the next step: realizing the European Hyperloop Center, a three-kilometer hyperloop test facility with the mission of proving hyperloop technologies at high speeds (more than 700 km/h). Additionally, the investment will enable the start-up to expand its team, to acquire investors for future capital rounds and to attract companies to join existing partners such as EIT InnoEnergy, the Dutch and German National Railways, Tata Steel, Royal IHC and Royal BAM Group.
“Koolen Industries brings a phenomenal strategic knowledge about how to build a leading company in a new industry,” says CEO Tim Houter of Hardt Hyperloop. According to Koolen Industries CEO Kees Koolen, Hardt fits well into their family of clean-energy companies. “With its unique lane switching technology, they’ll change the way we travel, just like Uber did for personal mobility in cities.”