What Can Stop a Supersonic Train?

Last month, Japan Railways’ maglev (magnetic levitation) bullet train once again set a speed record when it broke through the 600-kph (374-mph) barrier in a test run.

This unprecedented run, which had the train covering a mile in 10 seconds, represented an early trial for the still-prototypical system.

For full-scale implementation, Japanese commuters will have to wait until 2027.

At the moment, the world’s fastest train in commercial use is the Chinese maglev, which runs in Shanghai at speeds up to 431 kph (288 mph).

These two rail networks represent significant leaps ahead of anything we have here in the States.

The state of our own government-run Amtrak system became all too clear less than two weeks ago when one of the commuter trains derailed outside of Philadelphia, killing eight and injuring 200 as it came off the tracks at 106 mph — more than twice the speed limit for that section of track.

But in a decade, this may all have changed.

In fact, despite the clear advantage that the Japanese and Chinese maglevs have over our outmoded rail systems, they may find themselves outclassed before they even go into widespread use.

And we’ll have Elon Musk to thank for it.

Ever Been Fired Out of a Cannon?

The Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) founder and CEO made news last month when he announced the new Powerwall line of domestic and commercial power storage batteries. But an even bigger story moving forward will be his groundbreaking new mass-transit system dubbed the Hyperloop.

Travelling through a sealed, pressurized tube, the Hyperloop takes rail technology to the next generation by finally removing the most wasteful and oftentimes most dangerous aspect from the equation: the rails themselves.

Powered by pressure and levitating on a 1-mm-thick cushion of air instead of magnets, the Hyperloop will not just exceed the maximum speed of all planned and current maglev models by a wide margin (it will top out at 760 mph/1220 kph), but it will do so using only a fraction of the energy required to drive its competitors.

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The advantage comes from Hyperloop’s unique, pressure-sealed tube.

Instead of fighting wide resistance with aerodynamics and brute force, a Hyperloop car will actually use air pressure to its advantage by sucking in air at the leading edge and blowing it out the back.

The area of low pressure at the nose of the car (or pod) will pull it forward as the positive pressure behind it pushes.

The result is a very low-resistance, lightweight, efficient machine that requires no specialized engine car.

Although theoretical speeds will top the sound barrier, researchers speculate that due to the low-pressure nature of the Hyperloop’s interior, there will be no sonic boom associated with crossing that threshold.

A $100 million test track is scheduled for construction next year, with provisional plans for the construction of a loop between Los Angeles and San Francisco to move forward afterwards.

When completed, this $8 billion loop will allow citizens of both metropolitan areas to effectively commute between the two in less time than a standard commute between suburbs and downtown would take in either city.

Adding to the efficiency and economic viability of this proposed system is that it could be powered by locally installed solar panels.

Given Musk’s involvement with Solar City (NASDAQ: SCTY) — which was founded by his cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive — and the obvious connection to commercial-grade power storage coming from Tesla’s own Powerwall product line, it doesn’t take a major leap of logic to see how the Hyperloop could potentially become a self-sufficient model to be copied nationally and eventually on a global scale.

Working Harder; Working Smarter

Cheaper, faster, cleaner, and safer could almost be a mantra of 21st century personal and mass transit.

We’ve seen it with advancements like Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which is the most efficient, farthest flying, and most in-demand medium-sized airliner in production today.

We’ve seen it with cars, which are not just more efficient than ever but also cleaner and more powerful.

And we’re seeing it with municipal transportation, too, like natural gas- and electric-powered bus lines appearing all over North America.

It’s the wave of the future and an investor’s dream… but there is one problem with all of this.

You see, as much as new technologies have changed the face of transportation, they all have one fundamental flaw.

It’s not a technological shortcoming but one of supply. Any technology that relies heavily on magnets (as do the maglev trains), rechargeable batteries (like all hybrid electric cars and future Hyperloop pods), or photovoltaics will rely on a very special category of metals to function.

Without this class of metals, things like solar cells and electromagnets simply would not work.

The dozens of computers and subsystems that allow the Boeing 787 to fly couldn’t function, nor could the Hyperloop collect or store energy, if our supply of this class of metals is depleted.

And that’s the only dark side to this whole trend of cheaper, faster, cleaner, and safer.

Because right now, we import close to 100% of these materials, and the world’s biggest producer and vendor of these metals isn’t a very friendly one.

An Industrial Bottleneck You Can Buy Into

It’s a silent crisis that few analysts or government spokespeople are talking about — but they are definitely aware and definitely worried.

Just a few months ago, 60 Minutes first broke this story, and since then, awareness of our potentially catastrophic lack of preparedness has been increasing steadily.

But it gets worse. It’s not just 21st century conveniences that rely on these metals… it’s also every last high-tech device used by our military.

Everything from the $200 million F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive single-seat aircraft ever built, all the way down to every last guided missile and bomb relies on these metals the same way microchips rely on silicon and superconductors.

How were we caught so unaware? How did the billions in venture capital flowing into these industries annually fail to secure a safe and reliable supply of these metals?

That will remain a mystery for now. What you need to know, however, is that market makers are in the process of scrambling to fix this problem.

The only viable solution will come from the most unlikely of sources.

I’ve been aware of this situation for years, and just a few weeks ago, I published a report on how we just might be able to save ourselves from a supply crisis that, if left unaddressed, will trump the fuel shortages of the 1970s.

It might scare you at first, but there is hope.

Not just that — there is opportunity… great opportunity for investors who get in ahead of the curve.

My report is free and available for instant access right here.

Fortune favors the bold,

Alex Koyfman

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His flagship service, Microcap Insider, provides market-beating insights into some of the fastest moving, highest profit-potential companies available for public trading on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges. With more than 5 years of track record to back it up, Microcap Insider is the choice for the growth-minded investor. Alex contributes his thoughts and insights regularly to Wealth Daily. To learn more about Alex, click here.