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Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders of Saronic Technologies Inc. announced the Austin startup had selected South Texas as the site for a shipyard where it will build its drone boats.<\/p>\n
Provided by Saronic Technologies Inc.<\/p>\n
Saronic\u00a0Technologies Inc.<\/a>\u00a0has selected a South Texas site as the location for a $3.2 billion shipyard where it plans to build more of the autonomous drone boats that have been in the news<\/a> in recent weeks for autonomous Navy missions in the Strait of\u00a0Hormuz.<\/p>\n The fast-growing Austin startup<\/a> said the Port of Brownsville site, which could employ 10,000 people in the next decade, will start at 800 acres and could grow to as much as 4,000 acres, which would be more than 1.5x the size of Austin’s planned Dog’s Head development area.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Construction is set to begin this year and the first phase of the yard will be operational in 2028, Saronic CEO Dino Mavrookas said in a\u00a0news conference Thursday with Gov. Greg Abbott.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want this to be the fastest groundbreaking to ship off the production line in the history of the country,\u201d\u00a0Mavrookas\u00a0 said. \u201cThat\u2019s our goal, and then the buildout will continue over the next the next 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Saronic Technologies, founded in 2022, designs and manufactures autonomous ships and has become a token commercial provider for the U.S. military.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company made history this week when the U.S. Navy used three of its sea drones<\/a> to attack an Iranian naval base in the Strait of Hormuz \u2014 the first known U.S. use of such craft in combat. Last month, the same type of vessel notched another first when it rescued the pilots<\/a> of a U.S. Apache helicopter that had been downed near the strait.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Late last year, Saronic landed a $392 million production contract for its 24-foot-long Corsair vessels.\u00a0The speedboats, which cost about $1 million each, can travel more than 1,000 miles and carry payloads of up to 1,000 pounds at speeds up to 35 knots.\u00a0Corsairs were used in both the recent attack on Iran and last month\u2019s pilot rescue.<\/p>\n This year, the startup more than doubled its valuation after a $1.75 billion funding<\/a>\u00a0round announced in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rumors have circulated about the development over the past few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cameron County, which is also home to\u00a0SpaceX headquarters in the company town of\u00a0Starbase, has committed $211 million in tax abatements\u00a0over four phases beginning in 2029 for the Port Alpha project.\u00a0The \u201ccounty has experienced exceptional growth over recent years, and the potential addition of\u00a0Saronic Technologies will build on that momentum,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Port Isabel Independent School District has also approved four Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation, or\u00a0JETI, agreements worth about $228 million in school property tax relief for Port Alpha.\u00a0Also, the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corp. pledged to give $10 million to the firm this year. The Brownsville Navigation District, which operates the port, has given\u00a0Saronic an option to lease nearly 4,400 acres for up to 50 years.<\/p>\n Saronic chose the South Texas location after a 12-month search across the country, Mavrookas said, which included sites in Solano County, California, and in Virginia.\u00a0<\/p>\n The development could become one of the largest manufacturing operations in Texas, with the possible 4,000-acre campus being about double the size of automaker Toyota’s 2,000-acre San Antonio facility. Other major manufacturing operations include Tesla’s 2,500-acre Gigafactory in Travis County and Texas Instruments’ 1,500-acre chipmaking facility in Sherman.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a saying here that everything is bigger in Texas,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cNow shipbuilding is bigger in Texas than any other state.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.<\/p>\n Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders of\u00a0Saronic Technologies Inc.<\/a>, which has been eyeing the Port of Brownsville for a $3.2 billion shipyard, are planning what the governor\u2019s office is calling a \u201cmajor economic development announcement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It did not disclose the content of Thursday\u2019s announcement, but Austin-based Saronic has been looking for a site for its Port Alpha, a highly automated shipyard to build medium and large autonomous boats. It promises as many as 10,000 jobs over a phased build-out.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Saronic has also been eyeing sites in Solano County, California, and in Virginia, but the Port of\u00a0Brownsville is seen as the top contender for the project. Local and state officials have already sweetened the deal\u00a0with incentive packages worth an estimated $450 million.<\/p>\n The fast-growing company made history this week when the\u00a0U.S. Navy used three of its sea drones<\/a> to attack an Iranian naval base in the Strait of Hormuz\u00a0\u2014 the first known U.S. use of such craft in combat. Last month, the same type of vessel notched a first when it\u00a0rescued the pilots<\/a> of a U.S. Apache helicopter that had been downed near the strait.<\/p>\n Cameron County, which is also home to\u00a0SpaceX headquarters in the company town of\u00a0Starbase, has committed $211 million in tax abatements\u00a0over four phases beginning in 2029 for the Port Alpha project.\u00a0The \u201ccounty has experienced exceptional growth over recent years, and the potential addition of\u00a0Saronic Technologies will build on that momentum,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n The Port Isabel Independent School District has also approved four Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation, or\u00a0JETI, agreements worth about $228 million in school property tax relief for Port Alpha.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Also, the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corp. pledged to give $10 million to the firm this year. The Brownsville Navigation District, which operates the port, has given\u00a0Saronic an option to lease nearly 4,400 acres for up to 50 years.<\/p>\n The company has been growing as its drone boats have caught on with the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n