Munich Re has set up a project team to consider the risks and challenges of a capsule-based transport system under development by Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT).

The German reinsurer and the US company have agreed to extend their co-operation after concluding a comprehensive analysis of hyperloop technology.

Hyperloop technology is widely touted as the next major advance in transport, in which passengers and goods can be transported in pods at high speed in a low-pressure environment using electromagnetic propulsion.

HTT says its technology could move pods 600km between Los Angeles and San Francisco in just 30 minutes.

“The technology developed by HTT is set to fundamentally change the way we travel in future,” Munich Re board of management member Torsten Jeworrek said.

“Such technological shifts give rise to new insurance needs that demand innovative solutions, which our hyperloop team is happy to develop.”