Surpoel, Europe's first indoor wave pool, is already pumping waves. The Dutch structure, powered by 24/7 Waves, has entered the testing stage.
If you've ever played the best-ever surfing game, you'll find resemblances with it.
In "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer," we are invited to practice our virtual surfing skills at the Wave House, a large hangar turned into a wave pool, before moving to the real waves.
When the console video game was released, riding waves and getting barrels under a ceiling seemed like something you could only do in dreams - or in Japan at the legendary Seagaia Ocean Dome.
However, the unrealistic vision of surfing under a metal roof slowly became a reality.
Hangar Surfing
Joeri Fredriks, Jeroen den Otter, and Steven Schmied are three passionate surfers who have dared to try something new.
After securing a physical structure that is half the size of a football pitch and setting up a successful crowdfunding campaign, they got to work.
In Binckhorst, an industrial area of The Hague in the Netherlands, they started installing their proprietary wave-generating technology.
After five years of hard work that involved partnerships with The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, and ROC Mondriaan, Surpoel has finally reached the testing phase.
Despite the need for fine-tuning and improvement, this project's potential is undeniable. The trio's ultimate goal is to create the conditions to "surf a perfect wave every day" in the city.
The founders of 24/7, the startup behind Surfpoel, say, "The facility is built from sustainable materials, the vast majority of which can be reused."
"In addition, it is also energy efficient compared to other wave pool techniques in the world."
The wave basin is 70 meters long and 17.5 meters wide.
The Dutch entrepreneurs say the structure produces, in theory, 120 nine-second, 1.5-meter waves per hour.
The first full-scale prototype and proof of concept is now making waves and gathering data to optimize the size and shape of the wave.
The 24/7 Waves team says they can extend the length of the pool to 140 meters and increase the height of the liquid walls up to two meters.
The artificial wave can be adjusted from small breaking waves for beginners to steep waves that can even barrel for advanced and pro surfers.
The Five-Year Loan Financing Model
The project is anchored in a loan campaign that returns 3.5 percent annual interest in five years, plus surfing time on the pool.
By May 2024, over 500 investors joined the urban surfing dream.
The Dutch wave pool technology allows it to be built indoors and outdoors, above or below the ground.
The basin can feature single-wave rectangular pools, double-sided, two-wave rectangular, and circular pools with two or more waves.
24/7 Waves already have potential customers from the United States, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com