Ocado-backed network of Hyperloop-style underground tunnels for delivering packages across London moves a step closer after raising £1.5 million.
Magway, based in Wembley, London, was founded in 2017 by Rupert Cruise, an engineer on Elon Musk‘s Hyperloop project, and Phill Davies, business expert.
They took to crowdfunding website crowdcube in November in the hope of raising £750,000, but they more than doubled that goal, hitting £1.58 million.
The money will allow them to expand their team and enter the pilot stage – which will see a 1.2 mile test track of 3ft wide magnetic tubes built later this year.
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A series of tunnels would transport 72,000 carriages per hour each holding four parcels along a magnetic track
The company says it’s network of underground tunnels could deliver more than 600 million packages a year in London alone once fully installed.
A series of tunnels would transport 72,000 carriages per hour each holding four parcels along a magnetic track, which propels them forward at just under 40mph.
They hope to build the first operational track between London, Hertfordshire and on to Milton Keynes where there are a number of fulfilment centres.
‘We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our crowdfunding campaign.’ said Magway Managing Director, Anna Daroy.
‘It shows that people, particularly younger generations, are prepared to back innovative businesses, such as Magway, in their drive to change existing, out-dated modes of transportation.’
The team say their network of tunnels will give retailers a quick and cheap way to move goods between distribution and fulfilment centres, and could be up and running in as little as three years.
The company has also raised £1.5 million through investors including Ocado – who may use the service in the future – and a government grant of £650,000.
Magway transports goods including groceries and small parcels on carriages moving along a magnetic track. Pictured is a still from an animated video showing a carriage moving along a track
The Magway tunnels could run under the embankment by the side of the hard shoulder and help cut down on congestion
However estimates for building the tunnels and carriages to carry the packages alone will cost a massive £1.5m per mile – with an extra £3.5m needed to get planning and legalities secured.
Currently a comparable feat – the Crossrail project -is to cost the UK £20 billion to build a 62 mile track with only 26 miles of underground tunnel, however these tunnels were much larger than the 3ft tubes planned to transport the packages.
In order to transport packages along London’s 9,197 miles of road far more than 26 miles of tunnels will be needed.
Magway calls itself a ‘delivery utility’ and plans to deliver parcels between distribution centres and consolidation centres via underground pipelines similar to those used by water, gas and electricity companies.
The company says it hopes to start with a series of short routes for airports to alleviate freight traffic with a UK wide network starting development in 2023.
The company is currently mapping its route across London from north London in Hatfield, to Park Royal in west London
The full-scale roll-out would eliminate millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions annually by removing heavy good vehicles
Similar to the hyperloop technology proposed by Elon Musk, the tubes will also use electromagnets.
However, Magway does not operate in a vacuum and will be used for transporting goods, not humans.
The company is currently mapping its route across London from north London in Hatfield, to Park Royal in west London – the first 56-mile section from Milton Keynes to Park Royal could be ready in three years.
Magway said it aims to install multiple pipelines across the UK and internationally.
Rupert Cruise, co-founder and managing director of Magway, said: ‘As the first major economy in the world to legally commit to zero emissions by 2050, the UK Government has taken positive steps towards reducing global warming.
‘However, how we reach this target is another question.’
The first 56-mile section from Milton Keynes to Park Royal could be ready in three years
‘With no clear plan in place, not enough is being done to address the future of our transport infrastructure and, more importantly, how to tackle the problem of dangerous levels of air pollution,’ he said.
‘We need big ideas that will change the way we currently deliver goods and the face of transport for years to come.’
The full-scale roll-out would eliminate millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions annually by removing heavy good vehicles from the road as well as saving millions of pounds worth of road maintenance costs.
When electricity starts running through the track, this pushes the carriages forward at just under 40mph. The electromagnet technology is similar to that proposed by Elon Musk for his hyperloop
The government Innovate UK grant has been awarded to help build an operational demonstrator to illustrate how a full-scale system will operate.
A consortium of companies will deliver the project, comprising of Magway, Ocado, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, Space Syntax, Force Engineering and Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).
Co-founder Phill Davies told MailOnline: ‘Each Magway pipe can manage 72,000 carriages per hour; 12 million per week or over 600 million per year in each direction.
‘A carriage transports a ‘tote’ that can potentially hold multiple items. A typical Ocado delivery comprises 3-4 totes.’
The government Innovate UK grant has been awarded to help build an operational demonstrator to illustrate how a full-scale system will operate
He said the UK is the most advanced online grocery market in the world and It is estimated that 1bn grocery totes will be delivered in the UK to homes.
‘Magway’s 0.9m pipes can also fit 90 per cent of general merchandise goods leaving the likes of Amazon etc.
‘Our pipes can run both overground and underground and are the same as those being used in the utility industry. We are just putting something different through them.’
WHAT IS THE HYPERLOOP?
Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at roughly 700mph between distant locations.
It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes – half the time it takes a plane.
It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum. For safety reasons, Hyperloop tunnels need escape hatches in case of fire.
The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes.
There are now a number of firms vying to bring the technology to life, including Elon Musk himself, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, and Virgin Hyperloop One.
As several firms vie to create the first operational Hyperloop, Elon Musk’s vision of a radical transport system that could ferry passengers above land at 760 miles per hour continues to inch closer to reality
