A technology patented by a Brazilian company promises to reduce the cost of artificial wave pools by almost half. Based on technology developed by the Fundação Centro Tecnológico de Hdráulica da USP (FCTH), Infinity Wave wants to take urban areas beyond the very high-income public and intends to open the first project in 2028.
“Our purpose is to democratize surfing. The idea is that, with cheaper pools, the population has access. Today there are several options in Brazil, but they are restricted to the AAA public”, says the CEO of Infinity Wave, Luiz Roberto Júnior.
Currently, the cost of joining clubs with wave pools suitable for surfing reaches more than R$1 million in Brazil. The drop in the cost of the technology behind the simulators would have a direct impact on the price of the title in the project called Ilhas Beach Club, located in Atibaia (SP), projected at R$ 150 thousand.
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Infinity Wave Company was born from a study commissioned by Júnior from USP’s FCTH in 2020. At the time, the executive had already decided to include a surf pool in the project of the Ilhas de Atibaia development, of which Ilhas Beach Club is part. “I had been trying to make this venture viable since 2016, but the bill would only reach a AAA audience”, he explains.
According to him, there were limitations both to financing the project of a condominium with its own swimming pool and to investing in the simulator. On the one hand, the law that regulates multi-properties, approved in 2018, made it financially viable to get the project off the ground through the sale of fractions. On the other hand, artificial wave technology has evolved to more accessible cost levels.
“The main reason for seeking our own technology was the quality of the wave. We were afraid that the available technologies would become obsolete”, he says. At the time, market options with approximately 21 thousand square meters cost around R$120 million — today, Júnior estimates something around R$140 million. With Infinity Wave, the project costs around R$80 million.
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How the technology works
The great innovation of the system developed and patented by the company in 2024 is a set of 30 plates capable of adjusting the inclination of the pool bottom in real time. The mechanism allows you to create different sizes and types of waves through software — with a mechanical engine, these waves are generated in two directions, which allows 18 surfers on each side.
With its own technology in hand, Infinity Wave became more than a real estate business arm. Each pool generates a profit margin of approximately 25%, and the company is already in talks for projects in Goiânia, Belo Horizonte, Santa Catarina and the Dominican Republic.
“But today I am 100% focused on our own venture. We know that, after delivery, sales will explode. Many negotiations depend on the buyer seeing the pool working”, says Júnior.
Located on the banks of the Dom Pedro Highway, in São Paulo, the Ilhas de Atibaia project occupies a flat plot of land measuring 100 thousand square meters and was conceived as an integrated ecosystem. The space will bring together a multi-property resort, a convention center for the corporate segment, a water park, a skate park and a commercial area with stores and restaurants in an open mall format — in addition, of course, to the surf club.
The total budget projected for the development of the entire real estate complex is R$500 million, of which R$100 million is earmarked specifically for the club. The financial model foresees the sale of real estate fractions at an average ticket price of R$70 thousand.
