MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia has a shot at landing a development center for high-speed pod-and-tube transportation.
When representatives from Virgin Hyperloop One visited the state last week, they cited several factors to weigh among more than 20 states vying to host the certification center: a financial package, available land, proximity to the nation’s capital and local expertise.
So that’s not to say West Virginia is a front-runner for the hyperloop.
But West Virginia has a chance.
“I think public officials and the general public – we need to balance patience with a sense of keeping on these things and doing our best to get them but realizing this could take a few years to come to fruition,” said state Delegate John Williams, D-Monongalia, who attended last week’s presentation with Virgin Hyperloop One.
Williams suggested the state’s attitude should be, “By golly we’re going to do our best to get it done.”
Virgin Hyperloop One proposes building gee-whiz transportation where people and packages in pods could travel at hundreds of miles an hour through a system of tubes.
The certification center that West Virginia hopes to land would include a six-mile test track as well as the ability to work on operational functions such as getting on or off the system. Plus it would work to establish a regulatory framework for transportation that isn’t actually in existence yet.
Representatives of Virgin Hyperloop One were in Morgantown on Thursday to meet state officials with events that included a press conference plus a presentation for engineering students and other members of the public.
On Friday there were more meetings, but they were closed to the public and meant to work through more specifics of what the state has to offer.
“West Virginia University is excited to explore the opportunity to work with Hyperloop One,“ President Gordon Gee stated.
”It is only fitting that West Virginia University, as an R1 research university, and the state lend our expertise to Hyperloop One in developing a dynamic vision for transportation moving into the next frontier of connectivity.”
WVU’s not-so-secret weapon is the new Vantage Ventures and its partnership with West Virginia native John Chambers, the former chief of Cisco Systems.
Chambers, in a statement, said the hyperloop possibility fits with the Vantage Ventures vision:
“I am especially pleased that the state of West Virginia and West Virginia University are taking the first step in leveraging their unique combination of advanced engineering talent, complex manufacturing capabilities and reserves of natural resources to support Hyperloop One’s efforts to think innovatively about the future of infrastructure and mobility.”
Diana Zhou, director of project strategy for Virgin Hyperloop One, is one of the company’s representatives who visited West Virginia last week. She said the partnership could be a significant factor in West Virginia’s pitch.
“Hearing about the partnership that you guys have with WVU and everything that you guys have done with startups, I think that’s really cool,” Zhou toldWest Virginia Radio reporter Mike Nolting. “So we’re looking forward to working more closely with you.”
She acknowledged that the connection with Chambers can only help.
“Obviously he’s very influential, very well-connected,” Zhou said. “That kind of relationship is a big reason why we’re here in West Virginia. Seeing his support is going to be really instrumental in helping us make a decision ultimately on where to put this certification center.”
Sarah Biller, executive director of Vantage Ventures, said the possible partnership with Hyperloop One matches the vision set by Chambers.
“It’s a natural connection of the dots,” Biller said.
Vantage Ventures could help with research and development — and also to “close the capital gap,” she said. That means financial support while the hyperloop concept gets off the ground.
“We have a network of incredible backers and investors who understand that a dollar invested in the work we’re doing at Vantage Ventures and with partners like Hyperloop One actually goes farther,” Biller said
“We actually can attract investors, attract the talent and really reframe the conversation that’s happening around the future.”
The hyperloop is a proposed method of high-speed transportation for people or freight through a system of tubes.
A hyperloop system could connect cities, allowing transportation in pods zipping through sealed tubes at speeds of 600 miles an hour or more.
This is possible because of the magic of a “proprietary magnetic levitation system.”
Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he has been in touch with Virgin Hyperloop One at the national level, touting West Virginia’s attributes.
“I believe that the relationship between West Virginia and Virgin Hyperloop One could be incredibly strong and that our great state has exactly what they’re looking for in a location,” Manchin stated last week.
“I look forward to working with WVU and Virgin Hyperloop One to advocate for this partnership and will do whatever I can to make this a reality for West Virginia.”
Delegate Williams, who attended a press conference at WVU’s Erickson Alumni Center, said the project could not only provide an economic boost but also a tech surge.
“That would be huge in the short term. But in the long run to be at the center of this technology would be huge for our region. To have that distinction would be incredible,” Williams said.
“This technology I heard about it three or four years ago, and to know that they’ve come this far – that their proof of concept is this sophisticated that we’re this close and to think that West Virginia could be at the heart of it is tremendously exciting.”
Another delegate, Evan Hanson, also said the hyperloop project could come together for West Virginia.
“I think it would be great to be able to bring this to Morgantown or to West Virginia. We need to be able to bring jobs here that would grow the economy while protecting the environment,” said Hanson, D-Monongalia. “I think these types of high tech, high skilled jobs are a big part of how we do that.”
Hanson was realistic about West Virginia’s chances of landing the project, given the competition of two dozen other states. But he agreed the state should compete.
“You’ve got to be in the mix,” he said. “What’s happening by putting forward such a diverse group of people to make the company feel welcome here, that’s a necessary first step.”