The idea for the hyperloop has been floating around since 2012, back when Telsa and SpaceX founder Elon Musk first came up with the next-gen transportation concept. Now the group that announced its intentions to develop the idea back in September has stepped forward with an official name: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc.

First revealed as a developmental project launched by the JumpStartFund, the name of the company was actually the result of a voting process conducted on the project’s website. Some of the other, more science fiction-inspired names tossed around on the website included Tube X, MagTube, The Loop, Terra Tran, Loopola, Warp T and ScramTram.

Some of those names are intriguing, but the final choice is sensible and loyal to the system's conceptual origins. It's also pretty easy to imagine saying that you're on your way to ride the HTT, rather than the significantly more dramatic "X Tube," which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

Providing technical advice, as well as leadership around the community interaction aspects of the project, will be former SpaceX mission director Dr. Marco Villa and Dr. Patricia Galloway, the former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The overall direction and administrative direction of the project will be handled by interim CEO Dirk Ahlborn, who also serves as the CEO and founder of the JumpStartFund.

And while the JumpStartFund will be involved in helping to crowdfund some aspects of the project, the newly formed transportation company is also exploring other funding avenues, including venture capital. In previous statements, Musk has said that he believes the hyperloop can be built for about $6 billion. But Ahlborn wouldn't commit to a specific number when asked how much cash the company will ultimately attempt to raise for the venture.

Along with a new name, the project has also secured several new partners. ANSYS will provide initial technical support for the project, a natural fit given the company’s already expressed interest in the hyperloop concept. Back in September, ANSYS posted its own independent analysis regarding the feasibility of the hyperloop, complete with illustrations. The verdict from ANSYS: creating the hyperloop is absolutely possible.

ANSYS is not alone in its confidence in the project’s feasibility. “Nobody who is working on this project, Patricia and Marco included, is getting paid,” says Ahlborn, “so everyone who is working on this project believes that it’s possibility to make this a reality.”

Providing support in the area of manufacturing will be supply chain specialists GloCal, with UCLA’s SupraStudio architectural design program contributing urban planning and design treatments for the project. Also revealed on Thursday was a rough timetable for various milestones involving the development of the hyperloop system. First, a research paper offering specific technical details of the system will be released in March of 2014. That will be followed by a prototype design that will be presented for construction bidding in June of the same year.

“We have been contacted by several places that would like us to put the first prototype [in their location],” says Ahlborn, when asked about the project’s southern California roots and the location of the initial prototype network.

“It would be a valid alternative to the [upcoming] high-speed rail in California, but there are a lot of politics around the high-speed rail there. If the discussion later comes, we’ll be happy to do it in California. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be in California.”

One of the chief points of interest in Musk’s presentation was his claim that his plans were free to be used by the public, a position that likely helped inspire Ahlborn to launch the project. However, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. will be a for-profit venture.

Good Hyperloop feedback from Ansys. Am excited by how much it can be improved by open src contributions! http://t.co/bD0u3roBd0 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2013

In regards to this issue, Ahlborn told Mashable that Musk has not been contacted, nor has he had any participation in the project's development. Nevertheless, Musk did tweet a reference (see above) to the detailed analysis by partner-company ANSYS back in September, so it’s likely that he’s aware of the related project and what it hopes to achieve.

If all goes according to plan, the group hopes to have a working prototype up and running by 2015.

Images: ANSYS