Getting Funded and Working with Innovation with the Israeli Utilities: Dos and Don’ts from Leaders of Innovation at WaTech™ and KARAT – CleanIsrael Network Meetup –  August 2^nd,2011, 9 am. (RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/cleanisrael/events/25000871/)

by Shelli Zargary

In the context of the relatively small Israeli domestic market, utility corporations such as IEC – the Israel Electric Corporation – and Mekorot the Israel National Water Company are giants that benefit from a large bank of employees, a dependable customer base and relatively high economic stability. But these giants don’t slumber in their comfort zones; on the contrary, like the stereotypical Israeli Sabra, they are technologically advanced, ingenious pioneers who embrace wholeheartedly their mission to manage the responsible consumption, development and protection of Israel’s scarce natural resources. To do so, both Mekorot Israel National Water Co. and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) have accumulated great and diverse assets in terms of knowledge, technologies, human resources, sites and equipment that today they are more aware and interested in leveraging to drive commercially, technologically and ecologically valuable projects that will serve the interests of the utility companies themselves, the water and energy sectors, the State of Israel and sustainability worldwide.

To achieve these both lofty and profit-driving goals, each company has set up a kind of internal incubator to identify, invest in, collaborate with and otherwise promote research and venture projects in their areas of expertise.  Israeli cleantech entrepreneurs developing potential ventures in the water and energy sectors, especially ventures whose business models will require any kind of cooperation with the utilities companies, would be wise to consider approaching Mekorot’s WaTech™ and IEC’s KARAT.  CleanIsrael Network is hosting a discussion with Amikam Levanon, currently Special Advisor to KARAT, CEO & President at Alimo Holdings and former General Manager of Negev-based incubators Iris Ventures and Rotem Ventures; and with Yossi Yaacoby, Director of WaTech™ and former Marketing and Projects Manager at EMS Mekorot Projects.  The session will take a look at how the incubators operate and what entrepreneurs can and should do to maximize their chances of winning KARAT and WaTech™ investment and support.

Mekorot founded the WaTech™ Water Technologies Entrepreneurship Center in 2004 to leverage Mekorot’s values to promote water technology solutions in Israel and worldwide. Aptly titled “water technologies accelerator”, WaTech™ focuses on four primary areas. These include water technology-related business ventures and collaborations; applied research using Mekorot’s internal and third-party knowledge; intellectual property development and patenting, again as a service both for internal, joint and external IP; and water sector information management.  In all these activities the company invests significant resources to promote sustainability and environmentally friendly water technologies that capitalize on non‑perishable natural resources.

WaTech™ manages projects in the categories of water quality, desalination, wastewater treatment and effluent reuse, sustainability (environmental quality and green energies), water security, engineering services, water supply command and control systems and models for optimized water system operation and management. Readers can download a detailed description of Mekorot’s “wish list” as to the technologies they would be most interested in supporting using the following link: http://www.mekorot.co.il/Heb/WaterTechnologies/Documents/WaTech_Reshima-eng.pdf To date WaTech™ has participated in some 20 joint projects from among the some 560 proposals they have evaluated. The supported ventures have benefited from access to a wide variety of Mekorot facilities including alpha and beta testing procedures and sites, professional experts, engineering support, business counseling and a wide network of international contacts. Some of the companies that have collaborated with WaTech™ include Atlantium, Aqwise, Bacsoft, Kinrot Ventures, Lesico Cleantech, Rotec, Solaris Synergy and many others.

The IEC, the national Israeli utility that generates, transmits and supplies electricity set up Karat (Hebrew acronym for “Accelerating Technological Ideas”) as an internal venture management unit within the company to support and invest in innovative initiatives in energy-related fields that promote “green” (clean) electric energy, lower energy costs, and higher energy efficiency, all in concert with the aim to reduce national and global dependency on carbon fuels.  Early-stage ventures participating in the KARAT program receive access not only to funds (up to NIS 2m) and to fund-raising efforts, but also to the electrical grid that is so critical for testing and validating technologies, as well as to IEC’s scientists and engineers, strategic partners and other services that significantly facilitate the ventures’ business success.

Karat promotes energy-related initiatives, in particular in the areas of renewable energy (materials, devices, systems, control, etc.); environmental protection (reduction of greenhouse gases, electromagnetic fields and other emissions, recycling, waste treatment, etc.); use of electricity generation process by-products;   improved energy efficiency, storage and smart-grid systems.  Karat has clearly defined criteria and procedures for acceptance that seek out the most unique yet commercially viable technologies; it now plans to expand support for its portfolio companies by setting up a Global Partnership Program. Hundreds of ventures have been screened; the list of innovative companies approved and operating within KARAT includes promising startups such as InnoSave, Metrycom, Burning Solar Ltd., Even-Or Technologies, PVnanoCell and Powercom.

The thresholds are high and the application processes are not simple, but they can make the difference.  Ventures that go the route of applying to Karat and WaTech™ will already benefit from the evaluation process itself.  Needless to say, those ventures selected as participants will get a big basket of goodies, including funding, publicity, technical and business support and access to strategic local as well as global players that can be the deciding factor to bring rapid business success.

* shelli.zargary@gmail.com

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Jason Eis, Senior Strategy Manager, The Carbon Trust

UK Industry experts shared insights on trends & strategies that can help innovative Israeli cleantech ventures meet with success in the global market

In the dynamic and uncertain waters of the rapidly developing cleantech sector, startups will improve their chances of success by navigating carefully and making smart decisions on their commercial focus and business model from the outset.  To help its members make the right decisions, CleanIsrael invited experts Jason Eis, heading up Innovation Strategy for the Carbon Trust, UK and Richard Youngman, MD Europe & Asia, the Cleantech Group to share their insights, experience and expertise on the topic.  Both speakers indicated that while today’s trends show that currently it is more difficult to obtain funds for new ventures, nevertheless the megatrend bringing cleantech to the mainstream continues. The UK and global markets are expanding and more and more varied sources are seeking innovative cleantech technologies in which to invest.

The event kicked off with opening remarks by Ariella Grinberg, an analyst at ICV, and Gabby  Czertok, CEO of HydroSpin and Managing Director of CleanIsrael, who co-hosted the event for the CleanIsrael Network. Next on the agenda was Richard Youngman, MD Europe & Asia for the Cleantech Group, the world’s premier intelligence service on global cleantech innovation, who previously spoke at CleanIsrael in 2008.  He gave a brief analysis on how VC funding for cleantech companies has evolved since his previous appearance in 2008. From a peak of US$8 billion in 2008, the bulk of which was invested in large-scale, capital-intensive renewable energy and infrastructure technology companies,  the volume of investment has decreased slightly but the number of transactions has grown. Until the market hears reports of success and positive returns on the big cleantech endeavors of the last few years, focus within the sector will remain on resource efficiency projects characterized by secure business models involving smaller investments, partnering and risk-sharing. See graph below.

In addition to cleantech-specific VCs, investments in cleantech are also being made by private, usually low-profile individual and family office investors, as well as by large corporations carrying out technology scouting to broaden their portfolios.  Signs of stronger interest from public equity investors are evident in the performance of the Cleantech Index. Youngman concluded that the cleantech theme has gone from niche to mainstream, from renewables to energy efficiency and from California to China in a short space of time: new startups must take these changes into account when strategizing their market entry.



Source: The Cleantech Group

The primary presentation on commercializing cleantech technologies was delivered by Jason Eis, responsible for setting strategic direction for RD&D programs and planning commercialization support for new ventures at the Carbon Trust, a not-for-dividend company aiming to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy, through various programs including collaborative RD&D between technology developers and buyers, as well as integrated packages of grants, advice and networking for cleantech entrepreneurs.  A former McKinsey project manager and currently a policy advisor to the British government, Eis shared his insights on the complex and dynamic cleantech playing field, where the rules of engagement are still not clear. He recommends that in order to survive in these market conditions, cleantech ventures must analyze public policies and invest their attention as much in understanding how such policies drive the market demand for their technologies, as they would traditionally focus on the technology itself.  Eis gave several examples of cleantech market uncertainty in the form of technology alternatives that are dependent on differing infrastructure which the market will eventually have to choose between, such as electric versus fuel cell vehicles or CHP versus heat pumps. To date countries don’t yet know where they will invest and policies are often contradictory; effective cleantech companies’ business models recognize and negotiate these issues by supporting and influencing industry and government standards, and by partnering with corporate leaders that have technological staying power and can help them facilitate market access.

Eis described how the Carbon Trust offers a commercial deployment-oriented approach to R&D by bringing together “convened consortia” of large technology buyers in specific subsectors, such as offshore wind, to identify challenges and barriers  and define R&D projects oriented toward commercial opportunities, hence reducing the risk to innovators.. These programs are open to innovators across the world, and they are currently defining new program areas for the next 3 years. This experience and knowledge guides the Carbon Trust in the advice it offers to startups while also positioning them to offer more services and funds to new ventures.

The Carbon Trust also offers incubator services to fast track new entrepreneurs across the cleantech “Valley of Death”. Services include grants, broad networking opportunities and advice using a proprietary diagnostic tool. They have assessed 2000 and supported 300 ventures to date and have capacity to scale up by at least 2-3x this volume. For each million pounds Carbon Trust invested, the companies were able to raise 13 million in private funds, and 67% of the ventures they supported achieved commercial investment. Eis stressed the increasing role of corporates in cleantech that startups can engage as part of an effective business strategy.

Eis cited other UK agencies offering assistance and financing such as the Technology Strategy Board and the Energy Technologies Institute.  Moreover, public funds for cleantech in the UK will be available in the near future via the Green Deal and the Green Investment Bank, the latter is expected to offer £2-3 billion in public money to leverage up to £15 billion in private funds.  Overall the message was that Israeli cleantech ventures would do well to include the UK in their investment and development programs and the Carbon Trust is very interested in investigating Israeli cleantech ventures.

Both speakers indicated that they find Israeli cleantech ventures to be of interest. When asked how he characterizes Israeli cleantech, Richard remarked that Israeli ventures tend to be highly technical, and because the local market is small, most ventures’ route to market involves a challenging cross over a geographical divide at a relatively early stage. To succeed in these tough circumstances, Richard recommends that the entrepreneurs be very realistic in evaluating the time it will take them to get to market and to set business plans accordingly.

Jason’s observations largely concurred; he commented that in many areas of the cleantech sector the role of buildup and achieving maturity in your local market before extending out globally is very significant.  This factor creates a tough challenge for Israeli cleantech startups that face more difficulties breaking into foreign markets than those in other high-tech sectors; at the same time, he notes that Israeli ventures tend to be outward- oriented early on relative to ventures in other major markets.

The event drew a large audience with representatives from cleantech startups, venture capital funds, established firms and academia. The atmosphere was positive and the speakers answered many questions and met with several attendees one on one after the presentation.  The general presentation was preceded by a closed Round Table session focused on innovation in efficient energy & water management in buildings that enabled CEOs and managers of interested startups, such as TriDiNetworks, Emefcy and Panoramic Power among others to present their ventures to the guest speakers in advance and get some valuable individual feedback and have more detailed discussion. Thanks go to the Carbon Trust and to Israeli Cleantech Ventures for co-sponsoring the event.

By Shelli Zargary, shelli.zargary@gmail.com

Shelli Zargary, a veteran marketing and marcom professional with some fifteen years of experience in the Israeli high-tech sector, has joined CleanIsrael to assist with marketing activities.

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“PG&E, California Energy and Demand Response”

Boaz Ur, who is managing the Demand Response Program for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) which is one of the largest electric and gas utilities in the united states, talked about the California energy environment, PG&E and PG&E’s demand response program and how Israeli startup companies can work with them.

The event and was co-sponsored by ICV (Israel Cleantech Ventures and the Alfred Akirov Institute for Business & the Environment in TAU.

We will be holding a closed roundtable session with Boaz for startups in the energy field. if you would like to attend, please send a one-pager about your company to: gabby@cleanisrael.com

More Details :

Boaz Ur, who is managing the Demand Response Program for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) which is one of the largest electric and gas utilities in the united states, talked about the California energy environment, PG&E and PG&E’s demand response program.

Among other issues he spoke about the effects of Regulatory changes on companies working with California Utilities and about what PG&E is looking for in Demand response.

The event took place on January 3rd, 2011 at 9:00am at the Tel Aviv University and was co-sponsored by ICV (Israel Cleantech Ventures and the Alfred Akirov Institute for Business & the Environment in TAU.

About PG&E (California)

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is one of the largest electric and gas utilities in the united states, serving one of every 20 Americans. California’s energy markets are amongst the advanced in the world with a mandate to source 33% of electric energy from renewable resources by 2020. PG&E is also a leader in implementing energy efficiency standards and has been recognized internationally for its forward looking position on climate change.

About The speaker

Boaz Ur is currently managing the company’s Demand Response Programs, overseeing the development and management of PG&E’s Demand Response portfolio. Boaz’s responsibilities include Integrating Demand Response with Energy Efficiency solutions and Electric Vehicles and creating a Demand Response strategy/roadmap. Earlier at PG&E, he created a 7 year strategic plan for vehicle purchasing, including alternative fuel and electric vehicle strategy and successfully developed an environmental strategy in the area of vehicle emissions with the California Air Resource Board.

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Tata Group – Water companies showcase

On November 18th, a delegation of high ranking executives (CEO’s,CTO’s) from TATA Group

are visiting Israel in search for innovative technology and we have the honor to host them in our forum,

their main interest is in Israeli water technologies and we are planning to showcase 3 Israeli startups in the field of water technologies.

The event will take place on Nov. 18th at 17:30 at the Tel Aviv University – Room 003 in Dan David Building and is co-sponsored by ICV (Israel Cleantech Ventures and the Alfred Akirov Institute for Business & the Environment in TAU.

Pictures can be found at:

http://www.meetup.com/cleanisrael/photos/1157599/

About Tata group (India)
The Tata group comprises over 90 operating companies in seven business sectors:
communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,
consumer products and chemicals. The group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents,
and its companies export products and services to 85 countries.

The total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $67.4 billion in 2009-10
, with 57 per cent of this coming from business outside India. Tata companies employ around 395,000 people worldwide.

Members of the TATA delegation include:

- Mr R Gopalakrishnan -The executive director of Tata Sons – Tata Sons is the promoter of all key Tata companies and holds the bulk of shareholding in these companies.
He is also the chairman of Tata AutoComp Systems, Rallis India and Advinus Therapeutics, vice chairman of Tata Chemicals, and a director of Tata Power and Tata Technologies.

- Mr Manish Sharma – The managing director of the Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company – JUSCO. JUSCO is India’s first comprehensive urban infrastructure company in the private sector, invovled in the in the supply of water to both industrial and domestic customer and was India’s first Private Power Utilities Company to manage operation and distribution for the entire city since 1923
JUSCO is currently executing many landmark projects across the country and is part of the TATA Group.

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3. 10 Israeli Cleantech Companies to Present at CICC

The California Israel Chamber of Commerce has announced the 10 companies invited to present at this years CICC Cleantech Tour and Showcase, taking place on April 27.

Founded in Israel in 1962, Amiad is a world leader in filtration, delivering clean water with clean technology.  Amiad’s automatic self cleaning screen filters and automatic micro fiber (AMF) filters safeguard human health, the environment and industrial productivity.  Amiad filters can stand alone to efficiently remove solids from irrigation, municipal or industrial water, or help make multi-stage water treatment systems more effective and efficient by optimizing the use of chemicals and operating on a bare minimum of water and power.  Today, the company has more than 400 employees worldwide and is traded on the AIM London Stock Exchange.

Arcadian Networks designs and delivers wireless broadband communication systems to the energy sector. The real-time, two-way communication networks provide the backbone of all “smart” energy solutions – delivering operating efficiencies, interoperability and security. Designed specifically for utility, oil and gas, and renewable energy industries, the IP converged networks are based on private, secured 700 MHz spectrum. Customized services range from blueprint to network deployment, systems integration, through customer service.

BrightView Systems delivers comprehensive process control and optimization solutions dedicated to thin-film solar panel manufacturing. With a profound understanding of photovoltaic cell physics, process development and mass production, BrightView’s core technologies span in-line metrology, imaging and unique data analysis packages specifically designed for thin-film solar manufacturing. BrightView solutions improve the efficiency, durability and bankability of panels and provide integral solutions for improving thin-film PV productivity and profitability.

Designer Energy (DE) is an Israeli biotechnology company dedicated to producing cheap, fermentable sugars to sustainably enable the industrial biology industry. Designer Energy has demonstrated proof-of-concept for two enzymatic hydrolysis processes that both exhibit remarkable performance on a wide variety of biomass. The company is currently negotiating a multi-year, multi-million dollar research collaboration with a major oil company. Designer Energy has been funded by Musea Ventures, a family angel fund, to reach proof of concept for both of its technologies and is currently seeking to raise its first round of institutional funding.

Established in 2008, ETV Motors Ltd. develops advanced powertrain technologies that address the automotive industry’s tightening embrace of electric vehicles (EVs). ETVM’s scientists are focused on two achievements: a compact, energy-dense, power-dense battery; and an ultra-efficient on-board power-generator that keeps the battery charged with energy sourced from currently-available infrastructure.  Gram for gram, ETVM’s lithium-based cells deliver 50% more energy than the best competing cells. Batteries built from these cells will be smaller, more affordable, and have potentially twice the driving range of other lithium-ion batteries. ETVM’s innovative microturbine serves as a range-extender for efficient, affordable, clean plug-in hybrid EVs.

Linum Systems is developing a hybrid solar air conditioning technology which provides heat-driven cooling and heating, and seamlessly switches to electricity-driven mode during off-sun conditions. This energy-saving technology offers better efficiency and significant cost reductions in comparison to other solar air conditioning systems available today in the market.

The technology is based on a novel patent-pending thermodynamic cycle developed and owned by Linum, using mainly standard industry components.

Easy to install and operate, the system offers the first practical solar air conditioning solution for the residential and small office space. Linum Systems is based in Pardes-Hanna, Israel.

Panoramic Power is an early stage startup working on Energy Efficiency (EE) for commercial buildings. Our vision is to enable any organization full, granular transparency to its power flow and usage in order to increase efficiency and save costs. We will provide the enterprise with a standard, affordable power visibility platform that will extend the smart grid revolution into the internal enterprise grid and enable quick customer ROI. The technology under development will change the way enterprises look at their power flow, building a basis for an unlimited set of new and innovative applications. Panoramic Power: Smart Grid for the Enterprise.

Rosetta Green’s technologies focus on a unique set of genes, known as microRNAs that function as main switches for controlling key traits in plants and algae. The company is using its platform technologies to develop improved crops for agriculture, and feedstocks for biofuels. Rosetta Green is a subsidiary of Rosetta Genomics (Nasdaq: ROSG) Rosetta Green’s has managed to generate algae with increased oil content and plants with improved drought tolerance. The versatility of our technologies enables us to implement them in a variety of cleantech and agri-technology related traits. The company’s go-to-market strategy relies on developing POCs and prototypes of plants and algae with improved traits and collaborating with strategic partners for scaling up and commercialization.

TaKaDu provides Water Infrastructure Monitoring service, allowing water utilities to significantly reduce water loss and promote operational efficiency. The World Bank estimates global water loss at 25%-30%, representing a $20bn problem. TaKaDu’s unmatched Software-as-a-Service solution requires no network changes or capital expenditures. The solution, based on patent-pending mathematical and statistical algorithms, uses existing network data (flow, pressure, quality, etc.).  TaKaDu is fully operational with utilities and partners in Europe, Australia, Latin America, Israel and the US. TaKaDu was founded in 2008 by Amir Peleg, a high-tech veteran and serial entrepreneur, together with software industry veterans and prominent scientists.

TransAlgae, Ltd. is building the framework for algal biofuel and animal feed, using genetic engineering combined with practical agricultural, industrial and economic approaches. The company’s scientific team has completed its first generation of transgenic algae and a field research site has been established at a 400MW natural gas power station. In addition to higher productivity, the genetic approach enables rapid increases, multiple high-quality products, bio-safety mechanisms and contamination resistance. TransAlgae is in collaboration with Endicott Biofuels, TX, for the development of algae as a potential transportation fuel and renewable chemical feedstock source and is in the process of signing an MOU with a fish feed producer for testing of microalgae as an ingredient in the production of fish feed.

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Lecture 1: Batteries for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: What does it take?

The lecture will be held on Monday, 3 May 2010, at 12:00 in Edzia & Tanesz Dach Auditorium (5), Ornstein Chemistry Building, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv

Lecture 2: X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy: A useful tool for Li-Ion Battery Research

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Some of the events already lined up include a workshop on how to build a homebrewed wind turbine, and how to make the best use of a fresnel lens for domestic solar thermal.

For those interested, please signup at the Greek Unconference website.

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3. November 17-19 – WATEC Israel & Cleantech Panels

It’s been two years since the previous event, and this year’s WATEC (Water Technologies and Environmental Control) Conference, to be held November 17-19 at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, promises to be a great event.

Over the three days of the WATEC conference, the organizers are expecting over 100 delegations from 95 countries, and 15,000 attendees at the various exhibitions, forums satellite events being held.

Global Resources Conference: Cleantech Strategies and Solutions

In conjunction with the conference, there is a satellite event focused specifically on cleantech. The event will take place on November 18, 2009 in Hall 1, Conference Room C6.

Information and Registration

The agenda:

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The event was attended by ex-fatigues-wearers, dollar-bill-bearers and environmentally-sensitive ex-high-techers – about 140 in all – in a charming location off the Glilot interchange called Hakfar Hayarok and green was certainly the color of the buzz.

The morning kicked off outside in the grassy reception area with some refreshments, a fair deal of handshaking and plenty of card swapping, before we gathered inside to hear the panel and ensuing discussion.

The role that IDF veterans played in the making of the Israeli high-tech success story has become almost scripture. But the subject at hand was the emerging trend of the former making a transition into the cleantech sector. This is perhaps a less obvious phenomenon; after all, we have not yet seen the latest Israeli Merkava tank come with a solar powered electronics system and fueled by used cooking oil from the mess hall.

Sarcasm aside, in light of the elements which influenced the success of Israel’s high-tech sector, it is fair to say that the subject on the agenda has more significance than merely academic interest. The two primary factors which contributed to the exceptional growth rate of the Israeli hightech industry in the early nineties were, first, the military veterans who developed and utilized advanced technologies for military purposes and who upon release were absorbed into the private sector and second, Israel’s skilled work force, considered one of the most educated and entrepreneurial in the world. Understanding the driving forces behind the shift into cleantech gives insight as to how the sector will develop in Israel and what factors must be considered by the policy makers, market leaders and investors in order to ensure success.

The panel, moderated by Meir Ukeles of Israel Cleantech Ventures, was comprised of hightech and military veterans Yom Tov Samia Director of IC Green Energy; Gonen Fink, Co-Founder and CEO of Pythagoras Solar; Elad Frenkel, CEO of Aqwise; and Avner Cohen, CEO and Co-founder of Greenlet Technologies, several of whom served in Israel’s intelligence units and, later, gained executive and private sector experience in hightech.

They all seemed to agree that the skills set they acquired during their military service is what gave them the advantage in order to succeed.  Gonen Fink, who spent twelve years as Vice President of Products and Solutions & Strategy at Check Point prior to founding Pythagoras Solar commented that though not technological, his military service developed his abilities in systems management, analysis and seeing where things are going.  “At the age of twenty, the military makes you responsible for managing multi-million dollar systems and tens or hundreds of soldiers” panel member Elad Frankel pointed out, “This is an important basis for Israeli management.”

But not all agree that the high-tech elite will be the heroes of this story.  The CEO of a leading contingency placement firm in Israel deeply involved in the renewable technologies arena tends to believe that this is not going to be a replay of what we saw in hightech. “There are some very significant differences in the nature of the two sectors” he points out.

Unlike hightech, the cleantech sector requires professions which range from the classic hightech white-collar developers and programmers through green-collar engineers and architects to the blue-collar installers, plumbers and electricians. “Most fields within the cleantech sector are much more multi-disciplinary then their dominantly niche hightech counterparts” he explains.  Potential students, take note.

In addition to the security implications that alternative energy solutions have in weaning Israel and the West off fossil fuels, discussions also raised perhaps the most obvious and important reason to move into cleantech development – the sense of mission in contributing to the improvement of the planet.  After conversing with many of Wednesday’s participants I could not help but be impressed by the visions of necessary changes and the determination to lead toward this goal. Perhaps, after all, it is these traits which are the most dominant common characteristic amongst those transitioning into cleantech.

As one participant, a CEO of an early stage water company in the field of desalination put it: “The cleantech sector is in its emerging stage and is attractive for entrepreneurs who like to start revolutions rather than joining them.” One business development professional, when asked why he chose cleantech, said “just look around you at planet earth.”  I looked and I’ll certainly keep on watching, this will be the most exciting thing happening in the next decade.

Related posts:

1. CleanIsrael Network Event April 10 2011: “Carbon Trust – Lessons from commercializing cleantech technologies”
2. November 17-19 – WATEC Israel & Cleantech Panels
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