Magway is an all-electric, zero-emissions, low-footprint, high-capacity delivery system that has the potential to remove up to 90% of online delivery vehicles off our roads. Faster, smarter, safer and cheaper than existing solutions, it has the potential to take up to 90% of online delivery vehicles off our roads, drastically reducing congestion, pollution and the carbon footprint of shopping online. It can deliver the equivalent of 3,000 articulated lorry loads through each 1m diameter pipe, every single day.
Magway uses an electromagnetic wave, generated by highly efficient linear magnetic motors, to drive multiple carriages down a track at high-speed within an enclosed pipe. Each carriage can carry goods just milliseconds apart to local consolidation centres, making deliveries incredibly quick and efficient.
Powered by renewable energy, businesses can reduce their carbon footprints even further while also enjoying huge increases in speed, flexibility and resilience as packages are delivered quickly and securely without needing to worry about road congestion, human error or bad weather.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
The idea for Magway stems from my own frustrations with deliveries. While at an event, I began speaking to several fellow entrepreneurs about the issues I was experiencing with a delivery. Having ordered three identical gifts for my children, the delivery of them was less than ideal. Of the three gifts, the first only arrived at the second attempt, while the third arrived broken.
My tale of woe and frustrations quickly chimed with Rupert Cruise who was working on Virgin Hyperloop at the time. Rupert is one of the world’s pre-eminent experts in linear motors so our conversation quickly began to explore how this amazing technology could increase the speed, reliability, and sustainability of deliveries. The result of this conversation led us to create Magway, a zero-emissions delivery system that combines proven technology with leading edge innovation.
Our mission has since been further spurred on by the rapid growth of e-commerce over the last few years. As e-commerce sales increase alongside quicker internet deliveries and the growth of one-hour slots, delivery traffic on the UK’s already congested road network has risen, further worsening air pollution. To fix this, we need big ideas and a complete rethink of how we deliver goods.
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How has the need for Magway evolved during the pandemic?
The pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce as people are now ordering more online. Data from the Office of National Statistics has indicated that e-commerce in the UK alone has grown as much as 46% over the past year. This rapid growth was completely unexpected and overwhelmed delivery services, including those of businesses such as Amazon. Even when lockdown restrictions lift and physical retail reopens, e-commerce is unlikely to see a decline in demand as we have all become accustomed to its convenience.
This growth makes the need for faster, more reliable, and crucially more sustainable solutions such as Magway even more important. With governments across the world looking towards green recoveries, Magway offers the perfect solution to a large and growing problem.
At the same time, from a business point of view, Magway has been very busy during the pandemic. We are continuing to push with refining our technology and have in fact increased the size of our highly talented team by 50%.
What can we hope to see from Magway in the future?
The future for Magway is really exciting. In the next few months, we hope to share more news on our growth as well as new partnerships and commercial agreements for the Magway system.
We are also continuing to build on our amazingly talented team, and look forward to being able to share updates on this too. It has been an incredible journey already for Magway, but the reality is this is just the beginning and there is so much more to come!
