North Carolina's high-tech Research Triangle may get even more advanced in years to come.

The Tar Heel State announced on Friday that it is exploring options to bring Virgin Hyperloop One technology to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill corridor, which has grown into a hub for technology companies and research universities.

"You can literally begin to start thinking about the cities like they're metro stops," Jay Walder, the CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, told Cheddar. North Carolina's inquiry makes it the ninth state to explore hyperloop as a potential regional transportation system.

"We have stopped our imagination somewhere around 1956, which is when the interstate highway system was created, and it is time to restart our imagination," Walder said.

Virgin Hyperloop One, which was developed by Virgin founder Richard Branson, is the first company to successfully operate a full-scale hyperloop vehicle system, which uses electric propulsion and electromagnetic levitation in depressurized tubes to propel vehicles at hundreds of miles per hour.

"Imagine being in a super-fast vehicle that is completely smooth, no turbulence moving at airline speed," Walder added.

Although still in its early stages, hyperloop technology is proving to be a far faster, safer, and more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional forms of transportation, according to the company.

"The Research Triangle area is uniquely positioned from a technology focus, spatial layout, and favorable mid-East Coast location to benefit from a hyperloop travel solution that could quickly link America's R&D cities of Raleigh and Durham with each other and with neighboring regions in the southeast and mid-Atlantic," Joe Milazzo II, the executive director of North Carolina's Regional Transportation Alliance, said in a statement.

Trips between Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill are expected to be under 10 minutes, according Virgin Hyperloop One's initial estimates.

"You can take it a step further — Raleigh-Durham to Washington DC it just over 35 minutes," Walder told Cheddar.

<i>Cheddar</i>
Share:
More In Technology
Competitive Stock-Trading Mobile App Zingeroo Raises $8.5 Million
There is a new player in the mobile app stock trading space. Zingeroo recently announced a funding round of $8.5 million. The company says it aims to bring 'friendly competition' to stock trading, by literally breaking trading down into daily and weekly competitions between friends. Zingeroo also says it hopes its new approach can make trading more accessible, educational, and social than ever before. Zingeroo co-founder and CEO Zoe Barry joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more.
AT&T and Verizon Refuse FAA Request to Pause 5G Service Rollout
As cell carriers AT&T and Verizon planned to roll out nationwide 5G service this week, the FAA and U.S. DOT are asking the companies to pause their plans so more research can be done on the impact 5G has on aircraft technology. The companies are refusing, citing French regulations that limit wireless signals around airports while allowing research to continue. This week's launch wasn't the first time concerns have delayed 5G — last year, Airbus and Boeing express concerns, pushing the deadline into November, December, and then into this year. So what happens now — and what happens next? Will 5G roll out this year as expected? Jon Swartz, Senior Reporter at MarketWatch, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the state of the planned 5G rollout, why the FAA and U.S. Department of Transportation are asking carriers to stall the launch, and more.
Forecast for Crypto in 2022 as Slump Continues into New Year
Tyrone Ross, CEO of Onramp Invest, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why he believes the current crypto slump is expected to persist and says that investors should be focusing more on Bitcoin's hashrate when it comes to metrics.
Load More