China successfully accelerates a test vehicle from 0 to 700 km/h in 2 seconds

This speed broke the world record for platforms of the same type and became the fastest test mark recorded for a superconducting electric magnetic levitation system, according to this medium.

The images released on Thursday by CCTV show a chassis-like structure moving at high speed along a magnetic levitation track, enveloped in a cloud of steam, after accelerating almost instantly and braking suddenly upon reaching the end of the 400-meter route.

This advance, made after ten years of research and development, made it possible to overcome technical challenges such as “ultra-high” speed electromagnetic propulsion, electric suspension guidance, high-power transient energy storage inversion and high-field superconducting magnets, the chain indicated.

The test also provides new options for the future development of vacuum tube maglev transportation (“hyperloop”) in China and offers new methods and means for aerospace launch support and experimental testing, according to the report.

The development of magnetic levitation has been heavily funded by Chinese authorities since the technology was acquired in 2004, when Shanghai began operating a low-speed “maglev” line between the outskirts of the city and Pudong international airport.

In September 2022, Chengdu Jiaotong University (Sichuan, central) successfully tested a new magnetic levitation car on a highway in the east of the country, where the 2.8-ton vehicle remained levitating 35 millimeters from the road surface.

China also presented the fastest magnetic levitation train in the world in 2021, with a speed of 600 kilometers per hour manufactured in the city of Qingdao after five years of research and development.