Toronto, Canada – April 12, 2016 – TransPod, the startup that is building the world’s leading hyperloop system to disrupt and redefine commercial transportation, today announced that Sebastien Gendron, founder, and CEO of TransPod, will speak at the upcoming TEDx conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario on Friday, June 10, 2016. This TEDx event is organized around the theme of “What Are We Waiting For?” and will feature talks on the latest thinking in physics, transportation, bioengineering, medical technology, and arts and humanities.
Gendron’s talk will introduce the concept and technology behind hyperloop technology, the 5th mode of transportation after airplanes, trains, automobiles, and boats. With hyperloop, driverless pods carrying passengers or cargo will travel through low-pressure tubes at regular intervals between major cities.
Pods will travel at high speeds that are 50% faster than airplanes and 300% faster than trains and will be powered by renewable energies, unaffected by weather conditions, safe to ride, and affordable to access.
“At TransPod, we see an incredible need to introduce a new form of transportation as an alternative to the relatively expensive, slow, and environmentally harmful means of travel we have today,” said Gendron. “The hyperloop concept has existed since the 1950s and we now have the technology and capacity to bring it to life. It will significantly improve the experience of travel, by minimizing travel costs, maximizing the amount of time spent outside of commuting, and increasing efficiency for companies transporting cargo.”
Some of the benefits of hyperloop technology include the following:
It’s environmentally sustainable.
Hyperloop has low-power requirements and is powered by renewable energies like solar power.
It’s fast.
Initial designs project an average speed of 962 kph (or 598 mph). Imagine a hyperloop track that will take passengers from Toronto to Montreal, Canada, or Los Angeles to San Francisco, California, in 30 minutes. Today, it takes just over an hour by plane and approximately five hours by car to go the same distance.
It’s reliable.
Weather conditions, like thunderstorms, snowstorms, and turbulence, will not affect hyperloop as it will travel in a protected tube.
“TransPod is one of the only startups in the world dedicated to making hyperloop a reality,” said Gendron. “Our team of top engineering talent in aerospace, physics, and electromagnetics, combined with expertise from industry partners, is aggressively focused on producing a commercially viable product by 2020. Hyperloop will redefine the transportation framework we see today by allowing commuters to travel further in less time, speed up the exchange of goods, and create opportunities for in-city growth.”
TEDxThunderBay will take place at Thunder Bay Community Auditorium on Friday, June 10, 2016. For registration and details, visit tedxtbay.com.
About TransPod
TransPod’s goal is to disrupt and redefine commercial transportation between major cities in developed and emerging markets. The startup was founded in 2015 to build the world’s leading hyperloop system to connect people, cities, and businesses with high-speed transportation that is affordable and environmentally sustainable. TransPod is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. For more information, visit www.transpod.com.
About TEDx, x = independently organized event
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)
About TED
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com.
TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan, and Daniel Kahneman. TED’s open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a “wish,” or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted.
For more information, contact:
Dianna Lai Read
Director, Communications
TransPod Inc.
dianna.lai@transpod.com