PITTSBURGH, August 28, 2019 – Advanced Sealing, an ERIKS company, helped Netherlands-based Delft University of Technology’s Delft Hyperloop team earn fourth place at SpaceX’s 2019 Hyperloop Pod Competition, held in Hawthorne, California, on July 21, 2019. Now in its fourth year, the competition was developed by SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk to spark innovation and challenge students from all over the world to develop the best functional prototypes of self-propelled pods for high-speed ground transportation.
Advanced Sealing, a leading supplier and manufacturer of sealing and gasket products, invited Delft Hyperloop to work on their pod, named Atlas 02, at the company’s facility in Norwalk, California. In addition to supplying spare parts and machinery, Advanced Sealing created a fully functional workshop for the 40-student team, and enabled them to gain access to shipping and receiving logistics and capabilities.
Advanced Sealing’s parent company, ERIKS, which also is headquartered in the Netherlands, was a sponsor of the 2019 Delft Hyperloop team. As part of their partnership, ERIKS played a pivotal role in helping the team design and build Atlas 02.
Twenty one international teams were selected to compete in the 2019 Hyperloop Pod Competition. After completing a 122-point safety inspection test, four teams were chosen to race. Teams were judged based solely on maximum speed with successful deceleration. Delft Hyperloop’s Atlas 02 pod placed fourth, successfully reaching 125 mph—a 37 mph improvement over the team’s 2018 showing. First place was awarded to four-time winner Technical University of Munich’s TUM Hyperloop team, which achieved 288 mph. Full results can be seen at SpaceX.com/Hyperloop.
Introduced by Elon Musk in 2013, the Hyperloop is an energy-efficient, high-speed transportation system in which pods travel through vacuum tubes and are propelled by magnetic accelerators. The tubes create a low-pressure environment where the pods are surrounded by a cushion of air, similar to a pneumatic dispatch system. Due to the low air resistance, pods could reach speeds exceeding 700 mph, meaning passengers could travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in about 35 minutes.
Click here to watch a video on Advanced Sealing’s partnership with the Delft Hyperloop team. For more information on Advanced Sealing’s gasket and sealing solutions, visit AdvSeal.com.
About Advanced Sealing
Advanced Sealing is an ERIKS North America company and is a full-spectrum manufacturer and distributor of fluid sealing products for harsh applications including refining, chemical processing and power generations facilities. A premier sealing house to customers looking for new solutions to age old problems, Advanced Sealing provides a broad product mix including metallic and non-metallic flange gaskets, valve packings, metallic and elastomeric hoses, stud bolts, hex nuts, steam traps and heat exchanger gaskets. Advanced Sealing has a special focus on fugitive emission products, proven to meet and exceed today’s demanding LDAR sealing standards.
About ERIKS North America
ERIKS (www.ERIKS.com) has been a leading international industrial service provider since 1940. ERIKS North America offers a wide range of innovative, high-quality mechanical engineering components and associated technical and logistical services from nearly 140 locations across the United States and Canada. We provide the highest quality product standards in the industry, along with the peace of mind knowing that our products and fabrication are consistent, location-to-location, across our extensive footprint. From agriculture to power generation and from oil and gas to food and beverage, ERIKS North America provides a local presence and infinite possibilities, backed by ERIKS’ worldwide network of resources and know-how with over 300 locations in 17 countries. For more information, please visit www.ERIKSNA.com.
