Syroco settles in the Pharo Cove in Marseille
Founded in 2019 by Alexandre Caizergues, a famous kite-surfer, the start-up Syroco, which defines itself as a scientific and technical laboratory at the service of the maritime world and its transition, has just set up shop near the Anse du Pharo. The announcement of the local authorities' desire to to set up a centre dedicated to nautical companies is no stranger to this, explains the manager, who also emphasizes its technical needs. "We now have offices in Place de la Joliette. But at the same time, we work on the creation of prototypes, for which we had a workshop in Ici Marseille. The tools and space were great, but we were far away. For 2 years, we thought we needed a workshop near the sea, but it's an obstacle course to find one on the northern harbor of Marseille. When we heard about the Pharo redevelopment project, we contacted the Metropolis. We presented our project to them, then to SOLEAM (Editor's note: the company in charge of development for the metropolis). They were very sensitive to Syroco's overall project. We finally obtained an AOT (Autorisation d'Occupation Temporaire) for 2 years in buildings formerly occupied by Aqua Genius, an underwater works company. The idea is to be a long-term partner," says Alex Caizergues.
A speed record on the water as a support for innovation in the yachting and maritime sectors
Two years after its creation, Syroco employs about twenty people. If the project to beat the world speed record on water with a kite-propelled machine stabilized by a sea dog and to reach 150 km/h, is a showcase that made it known, the company has many other subjects of study in progress. "The record project is not an end in itself. It's a means to invent and create. We want to put disruptive innovation at the service of the decarbonization of maritime transport. We are also working a lot on energy efficiency, in particular with CMA CGM on the EfficientShip project," explains the manager.
Boating is also part of Syroco's activities. "For us, pleasure boating is part of maritime mobility. In particular, we have worked with Hynova, the hydrogen fuel cell boat. We did hydrodynamic optimization on the hull and helped solve mass problems. We also designed the E2F (Energy Efficiency Foil). This allowed us to save 1/4 of the weight of the batteries" concludes Alex Caizergues.
