Some innovations change the world. Others mainly change the way we think about the future. Hardt Hyperloop, declared bankrupt this week, probably belongs to that second category. Yet that does not mean its significance for logistics and transport has disappeared.
Over the past years, Hardt worked step by step on that idea. In Veendam, a 420-meter test facility was built to test components and switching systems. European research programs and investors invested tens of millions of euros in the project.
TU Delft students
Hardt was founded in 2017 by a group of students from TU Delft, inspired by Elon Musk’s hyperloop concept. The idea was as simple as it was revolutionary: capsules moving through vacuum tubes at extremely high speed. No air resistance, minimal energy loss, fully electric, and potentially faster than any existing transport system.
For passengers, it was often presented as the future of public transport. But for logistics, it may have been even more interesting.
The promise was clear: moving parcels and high-value freight—from medical products to fashion, electronics, and fresh goods—at the speed of air freight, but with the efficiency and emissions profile of rail transport. In a world where logistics increasingly revolves around speed, reliability, and CO₂ reduction, that idea captured the imagination.
The comparison with the shipping container was inevitable. When the container was introduced in the late 1950s, few believed that a simple metal box would transform global trade. Yet that is exactly what happened. Hyperloop was seen by some as the next system innovation in transport: a new infrastructure layer between air, rail, and road.
Ultra-fast freight connections
Interest also grew within the logistics sector. Studies explored potential freight connections among major logistics hubs, including ports, airports, flower auctions, and large fulfilment centres. In particular, the corridor between Rotterdam and Amsterdam was often mentioned as a logical first step. In such a network, goods could move across Europe in hours rather than days.
That prospect aligned perfectly with the rise of e-commerce, just-in-time supply chains, and ever-higher expectations for delivery speed. Fewer trucks on the road, less air freight, and a new European network for fast cargo flows: it was an appealing perspective.
Yet the leap from prototype to infrastructure proved larger than expected. Hyperloop requires enormous investments, new regulations, international standards, and, above all, a convincing business case. That is precisely where Hardt ultimately ran aground.
Europe
As recently as November 2025, the European Commission stated that hyperloop technology holds significant potential as a sustainable transport system for the future. A recent exploratory study concluded that the European hyperloop sector has moved beyond the design phase, with European companies among the global leaders in testing and prototyping.
The technology could contribute to faster connections, lower emissions, and stronger logistics networks. In 2050 scenarios, hyperloop could account for up to 7 percent of European freight transport. At the same time, Brussels pointed to major challenges around financing, regulation, and a viable business case. The EU therefore supports research, standardization, and safety frameworks, while recognizing that large-scale deployment remains uncertain.
Ideas rarely disappear with a bankruptcy
Over the past decade, Hardt achieved something valuable: it pushed the logistics sector to think about the next generation of transport infrastructure. About how speed, sustainability, and digitalization may converge in new networks. Perhaps capsules will one day travel through vacuum tubes after all. Perhaps not.
But the question Hardt raised remains relevant: how should we organize logistics if we truly want transport to become faster, cleaner, and more efficient?
In that sense, Hardt Hyperloop was less a failed company than a forward-looking thought experiment about the future of transport.
Walther Ploos van Amstel.