PDF version

EUREKA PROJECT
4497 SURFJET
POWERING UP YOUR SURFBOARD
When it comes to riding waves, to
each his own: either you favour the
unbridled, raging power of a jet ski or
the pure sensations of a surfboard.
But why choose when you can have
it all? This is the mouth-watering
promise made by Jetsurf.
Who hasn’t dreamt of mastering waves on a
surfboard, in front of an astound audience?
As cool as it may sound, such prowess had
so far been the privilege of highly trained
professionals and deeply committed
enthusiasts. With a view to bridge this gap,
the EUREKA-funded SURFJET project set
out to design, produce and commercialise
a custom-made surfboard powered by a
100cc engine.
With this new ‘power board’, you can easily
ride any wave or with no wave at all. And
that promise seems to win over people’s
hearts: over 600 surfboards have been
sold over the last three years, forcing the
company to think bigger. “JetSurf has
become our top selling product and we are
trying to increase production to meet the
growing demand. This also means that we
need more people involved in production,”
explains Martin Sula, founder of Jetsurf
and CEO of project leading company MSR
Engines, Czech Republic. In 2013 only, the
company hired 50 new employees.
The key to this success is not so much
the idea itself – other self-propelled
surfboards are already available on the
market – but its execution. Jetsurf’s
power boards are lighter, faster and more
environment-friendly than any alternative.
They weigh only 14kg and can reach the
impressive speed of 63 km/h.
A surfboard for all
The project began when Mr Sula realised
surfing was as appealing as it was difficult
to master. “Being a fan of winter sports and
motorsports I was looking for something
to do during my vacations. I tried regular
surfing and found it a very difficult sport.
This made me think: ‘why not try to put
an engine on this thing?’ It started off as
a hobby, but after some research and
development we found that maybe it could
be successful on the market as well.”
To ensure success, MSR Engines’ expertise
– the company counts the likes of BMW,
Skoda and KTM among its clients and Mr
Sula notably designed Audi’s turbo engine
for a previous edition of the 24 hours of Le
Mans – had to be combined with first class
know-how in hydromechanics, composite
materials and electrical engineering. This
is when EUREKA came in. “Thanks to
EUREKA we were able to start cooperating
with different companies around the EU.
We benefited from Sterk’s experience in
carbon fibre components and could use
Hitech Racing’s equipment for testing our
electric parts,” Sula notes referring to MSR
Engines’ German and British partners.
countries involved
CONTACT
Czech republic, United Kingdom
MSR Engines s.r.o.
Krasneho, 3857/7
Duration
46 months
Budget
636 00 Brno
Czech Republic
Jetsurf now sells three different kinds
of power boards, each with a different
customer in mind. Even professional
surfers are jumping in, with competitions
being organised twice a year. “We have
a few professional surfers in our team
already and they really love Jetsurf. But our
priority is to offer the amazing feeling of
surfing to the global public,” Sula explains.
“
Our priority is to offer
the amazing feeling of
surfing to the global
public
Another aspect that sets Jetsurf apart
is the meticulousness of the production
process. All power boards are handmade, and the synergies created under
the EUREKA project allow the company to
remain a step ahead. “Our big advantage
against potential competitors is that we
have both production and development
under one roof. 95% of board parts are
produced by our company,” explains
Martin Sula. This specificity, along with
a continued working relationship with
project partners, holds the promise of a
bright future for Jetsurf.
EUREKA is
a European network
for market-oriented
R&D.
[email protected]
www.msrengines.eu
€ 0.91 M
www.eurekanetwork.org