Traco Power DC-DC Converters in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod from the winning TUM team

The competition

The SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition is a competition organized by SpaceX where teams of students compete against each other with their self-built Hyperloop Pods. The competition's goal is to reach the maximum speed in SpaceX's 1200-meter-long vacuum tube. This competition aims to advance the realization of the Hyperloop System introduced by Elon Musk, thereby offering environmentally friendly alternatives to short-distance flights.

The TUM hyperloop team

This year, the competition was held for the fourth time, and the winning team of the previous years, WARR Hyperloop Team, once again took part in the event. The competition's main challenge lies in finding a compromise between robustness and lightweight design. To maximize the initial acceleration, it is important to reduce the weight as much as possible without compromising the pod's stability and robustness.

The DC-DC converters from Traco Power

The WARR Hyperloop Team opted for the Traco Power components since it had already gained very positive experiences with them in the past and since it appreciated the stimulating exchange of knowledge with Traco Power’s technical experts. The Traco Power components are characterized by their compact build, light weight and reliability. By using integrated DC-DC converter modules, the team was able to save a significant amount of time as opposed to discrete solutions. The search for components, circuit design and additional PCB routing could be omitted. Moreover, the use of SMD Traco Power components made it possible to save much valuable space and weight.  The following components were used: TSRN 2450 1SM and TSRN 24120 1SM.

Watch the video about the competition