Hyperloops are not viable tech at least till energy costs drop dramatically.
China is massively investing into nuclear power right now, so that could bring the costs down dramatically in the coming years.
Not really. Nuclear is very expensive to maintain (due to safety reasons).
The cost of maintenance is not really an issue when it’s a state run industry. Also, China is building stuff like thorium reactors now that run on molten salt and are inherently safer. Also worth noting that any tech becomes cheaper as you deploy more of it. You get better operating practices, standardization, better safety procedures, and so on. There’s nothing about nuclear that makes it uniquely expensive to maintain.
Interesting to see China always doing bigger infrastructures projects. They are pouring money in, great stimulus for the regional economy (despite some cases of misuse) but gets two questions :
- can such project become economically sustainable enough to last
- can others outside of China benefit from such expenses
When large scale projects are publicly owned, then there isn’t really a worry about economic sustainability. In fact, this can be seen as long term job creation since these projects will require on going repair and maintenance. It also looks like countries in the Global South are already benefiting as China’s been exporting their infrastructure there. For example, China built high-speed rail in Indonesia and subway in Vietnam.
