Gebrüder Weiss Team Achieves Top Position in Hyperloop Competition

Innovation Award for the team Swissloop sponsored by Gebrüder Weiss at the Tunneling Tunnel Construction Competition “Not-A-Boring-Competition” on September 12 in Las Vegas. The project from ETH Zurich achieved second place. The Austrian logistics provider aims to continue advocating for sustainable mobility concepts.

(Lauterach/Zürich/Las Vegas) Swissloop Tunneling, the team of students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich supported by Gebrüder Weiss, achieved second place in the tunnel construction competition “Not-A-Boring-Competition” on September 12 in Las Vegas. The tunnel boring machine Groundhog Alpha, developed by the research team as part of the Hyperloop project, was also awarded the Innovation Award by the organizer The Boring Company. Alongside another competition team from Germany, the ETH team qualified for the finals from a group of twelve finalists.

As the official logistics partner of Swissloop Tunneling, the international transport and logistics provider Gebrüder Weiss ensured, with a sponsored land and sea transport, that Groundhog Alpha arrived on time in Las Vegas from Dübendorf, Switzerland, allowing the students to successfully demonstrate the operational capability of their high-tech drilling robot. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated personnel shortages posed significant logistical challenges for all involved.

Investments in Sustainable Mobility Concepts Necessary

“Investments in sustainable mobility concepts are necessary. The Hyperloop competition was an ideal opportunity for us to put our corporate values into practice. This includes ensuring the mobility of tomorrow. We are proud that our tunnel boring pioneers from Zurich have achieved an excellent position in the top group,” says Lothar Thoma, Managing Director Air & Sea at Gebrüder Weiss. “We will continue to strive to find new ways for goods in the future, whether by air, water, land, or underground,” adds Lothar Thoma.

In the “Not-A-Boring-Competition”, the goal was to drill a tunnel for the transportation of people or goods as quickly and accurately as possible as part of the Hyperloop project. The Hyperloop project, which is based on an idea from Tesla founder Elon Musk, aims to transport people and goods over long distances at high speed, either underground or above the earth’s surface. To make tunnel construction affordable, the required drilling robots must be as fast, compact, and automated as possible.

Important Partner

“Gebrüder Weiss is an important partner for our team. Our success as award winners in this innovation competition would not have been possible without the support of the company,” says Stefan Kaspar, founder and co-president of Swissloop Tunneling.

Photo: © Gebrüder Weiss