SEGULA Technologies is actively involved in the research and development of cutting-edge technological innovations with the aim of soon enabling windsurfer Antoine Albeau to reach 66 knots (75 mph/122 kph).

Paris, 6 May 2021 – Aiming to break the world-record sailing speed over 500 metres, the Zephir project represents an unprecedented sporting challenge centred on technology and disruptive human organisation: to enable people to fly low over the water at speeds never before achieved, with wind as the only propulsive force.

Spearheaded by Antoine Albeau, French windsurfer and 25-time world champion and current windsurfing record holder (53.27 knots), and by Marc Amerigo, the entrepreneur behind the UltraPerformance concept, this ambitious project brings together dozens of partners from fields as diverse as sailing, extreme sports, research, high-tech industry and new technologies, each helping to optimise the various parameters involved.

Specifically, the aim is to use modelling and digital simulations to analyse and understand the physical phenomena of the surrounding environment, and then to develop technologies that will allow these to be fully exploited in complete safety.

The engineering group SEGULA Technologies joined the adventure last year and offers tailor-made tools and methods to aggregate the various concepts in the project and estimate their feasibility, as well as to optimise the board’s foil, a real technological marvel enabling it to take off.

To achieve this, SEGULA is drawing on its previous research and innovation work, its multi-sectoral expertise, and its skills in design, calculation, modelling, data science and fluid mechanics.

In collaboration with BSG Développement, SEGULA has designed and developed a VPP (Velocity Prediction Program) specific to windfoils. VPP is a tool to compile data to estimate the performance of the full system in relation to external conditions (air and water flow, interactions with the structure, etc.), and thus to propose improvements and/or breakthroughs based on the analysis of the results.

In a second phase, the aim will be to continue optimising the various parameters affecting speed and safety, and then to facilitate the production of the technologies developed.

“In addition to its engineering prowess, SEGULA contributes to the robustness of the project by offering simulation and integration tools that play an essential role in analysing the performance of the proposed concepts,” Marc Amerigo explained.

“This extraordinary scientific and human adventure is perfectly in line with our constant search for innovative solutions, putting technology at the service of people dealing with extreme conditions. This project is totally aligned with our values of innovation, ambition, responsiveness and proximity and it is a great source of pride to be able to contribute to it,” said Jean-Luc Baraffe, Director of Innovation at SEGULA Technologies.