EIT Climate-KIC supported Zeleros raises €7 million for the development of hyperloop in Europe

EIT Climate-KIC supported Zeleros Hyperloop has completed a financing round worth over €7 million. The company starts a new and important phase in the development of its unique version of hyperloop—“the fifth mode of transport”—a zero-carbon alternative for the future, enabling the connection of long-distance routes for passenger and cargo transportation. Connections like Paris to Berlin could be reduced to less than an hour.

Zeleros opens this new stage thanks to the support of companies such as Altran, Grupo Red Eléctrica and also strategic investors at national and international level, including among others Goldacre Ventures (United Kingdom), Road Ventures (Switzerland), Plug and Play (USA), and the Spanish Angels Capital and MBHA. The funds will be used to drive further development of Zeleros’ hyperloop vehicle and its core technologies, which place them as the best alternative to efficiently cover routes between 400 and 1,500 kilometers in distance, with special benefits such as the reduction of the overall infrastructure costs and the operation at safer pressures for passengers.

Commenting on the announcement, David Pistoni, Chief Executive Officer at Zeleros, said: “For Zeleros, it is key to have partners of this relevance and expertise onboard. Their support will accelerate the development of our technologies, unlocking the path towards hyperloop-based routes and corridors in Europe and worldwide.”

He continued: “These new funds will boost a major milestone of developing and demonstrating our technologies in a real environment of operation, bringing Zeleros closer to a multibillion market opportunity to be captured in the next decades.”

Pilar Rodríguez, Strategy, Innovation and R&D Director at Altran Spain, participating as lead investor, said: “As a world-leading engineering company, Altran acts as a technological catalyst in various strategic sectors. By supporting Zeleros, Altran is accelerating disruptive innovation in a sector, such as mobility, that is reinventing itself. With technologies like hyperloop we are changing the future of mobility. Altran has been collaborating with Zeleros since 2017 and will now contribute all of its experience and multidisciplinary talent to help the company accelerate the development of hyperloop technology.”

Miguel Ruiz Dealbert, CEO at MBHA Group, highlighted: “Our companies are committed at supporting technologies and start-ups that accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable mobility. Zeleros has a great potential to decarbonize intercity mobility sector, currently covered mainly by regional aviation. Our company ZIUR Composite Solutions will bring its wide experience in the development of complex structures of composite materials and process automation, supporting Zeleros to reduce the time of implementation and commercialization of their technologies.”

The next step will be the deployment of the European Hyperloop Development Centre in Spain, including a three kilometre test track to demonstrate the effectiveness of its technologies at high speed. The aim of this project is to accelerate the development of the hyperloop industry in Europe, by creating an ecosystem of international industrial, technological and institutional partners.

“Hyperloop is a great development that requires the participation of first-class players and that is why from the beginning we decided to approach our project by creating a collaborative ecosystem. We combine Zeleros’ talented team and technology with the global experience provided by leading organisations in sectors such as railways, aeronautics, infrastructure and electrification,” says David Pistoni.

Finally, Juan Vicén, Chief Marketing Officer at Zeleros, concludes that: “This technology will be a crucial tool to strengthen the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as well as the European Green Deal. Since its creation, Zeleros has been promoting the standardization and regulation of hyperloop systems to ensure the highest level of safety and interoperability to expands the limits of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).”

Zeleros was part of EIT Climate-KIC’s Accelerator. EIT Climate-KIC has supported cleantech start-ups over the ten years of its existence. Now, the organisation is developing a response to the climate emergency based on whole systems innovation tackling finance, land use, industry and cities. Innovative companies like Zeleros form a key part of this systemic change approach, in this case, offering a technology with the potential to transform European travel towards net-zero.