Netherlands: An external administrator has been appointed to the company. In a press release, Hardt Hyperloop acknowledged the bankruptcy and stated it is “exploring all options to continue operations”. No official reasons for the bankruptcy have been disclosed.
Hardt Hyperloop was founded in 2017 by a team of Delft University of Technology students. Over several years, the startup raised more than €50 mln from various public and private investors. These funds enabled construction of a 420 m vacuum test tube in Veendam, development of a vehicle prototype, and a series of tests.
In September 2025, the company announced a speed record of 85 km/h and the first successful switch traversal. Plans called for expanding the test site to 3–5 km, followed by a 30–50 km operational demonstrator line.
Vacuum test tube of 420 m from Hardt Hyperloop. Source: Hardt Hyperloop
Despite the bankruptcy, the Veendam test site, known as the European Hyperloop Centre or EHC, remains legally independent. It continues to be available to other firms wishing to test their technologies.
Currently, more than a dozen organisations worldwide—from Europe and the US to India and China—are developing vacuum magnetic levitation technology, including major state-owned enterprises. China’s most ambitious T-Flight project features a 2 km test line in Datong designed for 1,000 km/h speeds. Notably, the first to launch a test site—US firm Hyperloop One—went bankrupt in 2024.
