Virgin Hyperloop has announced plans to construct a new Certification Center on an 800-acre piece of land in West Virginia. The company intends to use the new center to test its futuristic transport system and will also be used to develop and validate the use of hyperloop technology.
The project was announced by officials from the company, in a press conference attended by some elected leaders. The facility will sit on a site that spans Tucker and Grant counties. West Virginia was selected out of 17 states that competed to host the company’s Hyperloop Certification Center (HCC). The facility will include a training center on operations, testing facilities, a manufacturing facility, maintenance and safety, and a certification track.
Laying a foundation for commercial deployment countrywide
This is the company’s first center in the U.S and will lay a foundation for commercial deployment across the United States and other countries. Virgin Hyperloop is constructing the center in partnership with Marshall University, West Virginia University (WVU), and others.
During the press statement, local leaders said the center will create thousands of jobs with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at WVU predicting that the center will contribute $48 every year directly to West Virginia’s economy.
In the announcement, Virgin Hyperloop said the entry into the nascent hyperloop technology is a significant step towards certification and commercialization of the technology. The company said it intends to complete certification of the technology in 2025 before commencing commercial operations in 2030. The company says it has enjoyed bipartisan support from both levels of government through elected leaders.
The company has established strategic routes in various states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. According to West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, R, the new facility will give the state an upper hand towards commercialization.
It is truly about more than West Virginia or our nation,” Justice said. “It is about transforming transportation, it is an idea, it is America at its best, for the entire world,” he added.
