From July 18 to 24, the European Hyperloop Week took place in Delft and Hilversum, Netherlands. Würth Elektronik was involved in many ways: as a Gold Partner, jury member, and speaker at the event, as well as a long-term technology partner of several teams.
Unlike the SpaceX competitions, the event launched by four student Hyperloop teams is not primarily about pod speed. Here, the focus is on sustainability, scalability, and feasibility. The prize awarded by Würth Elektronik for the best ‘Thermal & EMC Management’ went to the Hyperloop UPV Valencia team.
International student teams
31 international student teams participated in the week of events, which offered plenty of variety with conferences, technical presentations, seminars, keynotes, panel discussions and design competitions. Disciplines included Mechanical Properties, Electronic System, Traction, Design, and Economy, and Efficiency.
The event concluded on Sunday evening with an awards ceremony. The following teams came out on top in the above categories:
- Team Hyperloop UPV: Thermal & EMC Management and the Guiding Subsystem
- Team mu-zero HYPERLOOP: Technical Aspects of Hyperloop Systems, Socioeconomic Aspects of Hyperloop Systems, Electrical Subsystem
- Team Swissloop: Traction Subsystem, Mechanical Subsystem
- Team Delft Hyperloop: Complete Pod
High-current applications
Würth Elektronik has been supporting numerous Hyperloop teams for some time
A special highlight on Thursday, July 21, was the keynote speech by Alexander Gerfer, CTO at Würth Elektronik eiSos Group, on the topic: ‘Are you ready for the hard road to reach your big goal? - Experience and Learnings from a CTO perspective.’ Among other things, it dealt with the development process using the example of temperature management in high-current applications.
Würth Elektronik has been supporting numerous Hyperloop teams for some time, first and foremost Swissloop Switzerland, HYPED in Edinburgh, UPV Valencia and CHF Madrid, mų-zero Hyperloop Karlsruhe, Shift Norway, KTH Stockholm, and Delft Hyperloop. Jorge Victoria, Senior Product Manager EMC Shielding & Thermal Materials at Würth Elektronik eiSos, was particularly involved. He supported the teams in various issues related to heat loss and electromagnetic compatibility and was part of the jury.
Supporting future technologies
Other key areas of support from Würth Elektronik included performance enhancement in thermal management while saving weight in the pods through 3D-printed alternative components and vibration-resistant press-fit contacts (REDcube terminals) as a connection solution in the high-current area.
"As a technology enabler, it goes without saying that we support future technologies such as Hyperloop in theory and practice," explains Gerfer. "For us, future technology means not only record-breaking journeys, but also many innovations in a wide variety of areas that, taken together, make new mobility concepts feasible in the first place - economically, sustainably, and scalably."
