CleanIsrael» Cleantech News

Eilat-Eilot renewable energy conference – giving away one free ticket to a lucky entrepreneur

Gabby — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 12:17:21 +0000

The CleanIsrael network in partnership with Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy conference gave away one free ticket to the Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy conference held on Feb. 22-24.

The lucky winner of the ticket was Moshe Fourier from PowerSpace.

** registration is closed **

Fill out this form in order to be eligible for the ticket (valued at 750$)

In addition, there is a 10% discount for all CleanIsrael members (registration code:clean972) at:

http://www.eilatenergy.org/registration.ehtml

About the Eilat-Eilot conference

The Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy International Conference and Exhibition will be taking place on February 20th-22nd and a great platform for presenting technological innovation, business opportunities, policies and implementation in the renewable energy field. The conference brings together thousands of participants from all over Israel and abroad.

During the conference, engaging meetings take place that lead to tangible results in the field. The previous conferences have established this event as the leading Renewable Energy conference in Israel, as well as a conference of global significance.

10 Israeli Cleantech Companies to Present at CICC

Gene — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:24:50 +0000

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.

CellEra Is Seeking Top-Notch Researches and Engineers

CleanIsrael — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 16:54:36 +0000

This is a job posting for a position at CellEra. To post job availabilities at CleanIsrael, please contact gene@cleanisrael.com

CellEra’s disruptive technology is geared towards the delivery for the very first time worldwide of an ultra-clean and efficient fuel cell power source at a highly competitive price. The company is at the forefront of this exciting new clean energy frontier, with a multidisciplinary R&D environment combining and extending the related state of the art in electrochemistry, electro-catalysis, thin films, nano-technology and electrical and mechanical engineering. The company is well funded, and is led by a highly experienced management team.

CellEra has proven its core-technology, has engaged major International clients, and is now expanding its research and development activities towards the next phase of development and productization.

Position 201: Research and Development Engineer

The successful candidate will assume personal responsibility and lead a key area in our R&D program combing thin-film and nano-technology with electro-catalysis and polymer-science.

Essential Personal Characteristics and Experience

High reliability and high degree of personal responsibility
Advanced Education (further Industrial Experience preferred) , in one of the following : *Electrochemistry * Materials science /solid state physics * Chemical/mechanical engineering * Electronic /Electrochemical devices *Thin film science and technology

Desirable Experience and Capacity

Work experience specifically in the area of Electrochemical Power Devices
Working effectively in a small multidisciplinary team with minimum supervision
Excellent hand-on skills

Training/Degrees

Minimum requirements: MSc in Chemistry, Physics, Chemical or Materials Engineering or related field. PhD degree highly preferred.

Workplace Location – Caesarea Industrial Park (North), Israel

Please send CV to jobs@cellera.biz

Position 210: Senior Research and Development Engineer

The successful candidate will assume a leadership position in key R&D areas combing thin-film, nano-technology electro catalysis, electrical and mechanical engineering, and involving the work of several R&D team members.

Essential Experience/Capacity

At least 5 years experience within an advanced industrial electrochemical power source R&D environment or similar, having preferably expertise in electrochemistry / electro-catalysis / thin films
High reliability and high degree of personal responsibility
Advanced Education in one of the following : *Electrochemistry * Materials science /solid state physics * Chemical/mechanical engineering * Electronic /Electrochemical devices *Thin film science and technology

Desirable Experience and Capacity

Proven experience in working effectively in a small multidisciplinary team
Excellent hand-on skills

Training/Degrees

Minimum requirements: MSc in Chemistry, Physics, Chemical or Materials Engineering or related field. PhD degree highly preferred.

Workplace Location – Caesarea Industrial Park (North), Israel

Please send CV to jobs@cellera.biz

California Israel Chamber of Conference call for companies

Gene — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:58:14 +0000

CICC Cleantech Delegation to California

The California Israel Chamber of Commerce (CICC) Cleantech Initiative announced it is seeking 15 Israeli clean technology “cleantech” companies to participate in a delegation to meet with the leading industry, investment firms and utility giants April 26-28, 2010 in California.

Participants will have the opportunity to present their company to and meet privately with leading investors, corporate partners, policymakers, as well as scientific and academic experts as well as tours of California cleantech companies and facilities. Israeli cleantech investors are also be invited to participate in a special cleantech investment track with their California counterparts.

Previous participants have include industrial giants and investors SRI, Chevron, IBM, the California Public Utilities Commission, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Energy Recovery Inc (ERI), Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), Google, PARC, General Electric (GE), Intel, Sempra Generation, SVB, Perkins Coie, BrightSource Energy, Applied Materials, the Cleantech Group, Israel Cleantech Ventures, US Venture Partners, Greylock Partners, Battery Ventures, Vantage Point Venture Partners and others.

Application Details

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2010.

To apply, download and follow instruction on the Application Form.

Additional information on the tour can be found at: www.cicc-cleantech.com

Israeli investors interested in participating should contact shuly@ca-israelchamber.org

BIRD Energy Open for Grant Proposals

Gene — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:03:23 +0000

About BIRD

BIRD Foundation, the Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation, is a US-Israel effort to fund bi-national R&D projects on an ongoing basis. The organization funds about 20 projects a year – 800 since inception.

Recently, BIRD announced the BIRD Energy initiative, which specifically focuses on funding US-Israel R&D projects in renewable energy. It is backed by the US Department of Energy (DOE), the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures and the BIRD Foundation. Projects are funded up to $1 million.

BIRD Energy has already funded:

HelioFocus Ltd. & Capstone Turbine Corporation, CA – Microturbine for Solar Applications
Motorola Israel Ltd. & SmartSynch, Inc., MS - IEMS – Intelligent Energy Management System
Tigo Energy (Israel) Ltd. & Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co., Inc. CA - BIPV Energy Maximizer System
TransBioDiesel & The Purolite Company, PA - The Development of Lipase Carriers for Enzymatic Production of Biodiesel
CellEra Technologies Ltd. & CommScope, Inc., NC
Desalitech & GE Global Research, NY

Project Criteria

To be considered, a project proposal should include:

R&D cooperation between two companies or cooperation between a company and a university/research institution (one from the US and one from Israel)
Innovation in areas such as: Solar Power, Biofuels, Advanced Vehicle Technologies, Wind Energy, Smart Grid or any other Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency technology
Significant commercial potential; the project outcome should lead to commercialization

Next Round of Submissions

Executive Summaries (using BIRD’s template) – March 26, 2010
Full Proposals (following BIRD’s detailed instructions) – May 31, 2010
Decisions – End of July 2010

For further inquiries please contact:

In Israel: Ms. Chava Doukhan, chava@birdf.com, Tel: +972 3-6988307
In the US: Ms. Limor Nakar-Vincent, limorn@birdf.com, Tel: +1 312-923-1095

Interview with Israeli cleantech VC Astorre Modena of Terra Ventures

Avner — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:24:57 +0000

Astorre Modena is a co-founder and general partner at Terra Venture Partners, a venture capital fund targeting opportunities in Israeli cleantech companies at the seed and early stages.

Previously, Astorre was a Principal at Israel Seed Partners and prior to that he was with McKinsey & Co., based in Paris, where he consulted to leading Italian, French and Israeli manufacturing and financial corporations.

Astorre holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Outstanding Students Program from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Ph.D. in Plasma Physics from Imperial College in London. He was a researcher in the laser-plasma physics department at Imperial College in London and Ecole Polytechnique in Paris working in their nuclear fusion energy program.

I went to meet Astorre for this interview at the Terra Ventures offices in Jerusalem.

*On Terra Venture Partners…*
Avner	So Astorre, thank you for hosting me at your offices to conduct this interview. I know you are a busy man and we really appreciate it at CleanIsrael. Why don’t you start by telling us a little about Terra Ventures?
Astorre	Terra is a dedicated cleantech fund established in 2007 run by myself and Dr. Harold Wiener and focused on seed and early stage start-ups in Israel. We invest in all the classic cleantech sectors with specific focus on energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy storage with few out-of-the-box exceptions.
Avner	*You’re now entering Terra’s third year of investment – how did you get through the storm?*
Astorre	Terra was relatively lucky to have closed before the crisis. We started investing in the third quarter of 2007 but did only three small investments before the collapse of the financial markets so you can say it’s been a very interesting period. Because of the way we built our companies we were relatively less impacted than other funds. From the outset we start our companies on a very lean budget and that allowed us to fund the companies for longer without having to cut on personnel – this created a much better environment. Though it was difficult, we managed to raise external funds for our two initial companies even during the worst times and that allowed our companies to progress nicely even through the tough times.
Avner	*Have you been investing in new deals or re-investing into your portfolio companies?*
Astorre	We invested more in new deals (six just this year) because we believe that economic downturns are the best times to invest in new companies. Core valuations and competition are down, it’s easier to recruit new talent, easier to do things cheaply (materials, equipment) and entrepreneurs are more focused so you can create better companies. Financial planning in these cases is key as it is crucial to reach significant milestones with limited resources since it is going to be difficult to raise outside money.

*On the Israeli cleantech industry…*
Avner	*Cleantech is considered a capital intensive industry – how does your strategy align with your portfolio’s need for more capital?*
Astorre	Cleantech is an extremely wide and broad enough industry that you can find significant billion dollar sub-sectors which are capital-efficient where you don’t need the level of capital that you might need for big projects companies and that is where we focus our investment strategy. Our model is all about capital-efficiency and I think that Israel is also very good at doing more with less and this has been proven in the high-tech industry.
Avner	*How would you summarize the current situation of the Israeli cleantech industry?*
Astorre	In general there is a systematic lack of money especially on the early stage side because many of the angels and some other investment groups have disappeared so most of the deals are done by three dedicated funds and a few by the generalist funds. On the other hand, we are seeing many more deals in Israel then in the past so the result is that there are many worthy companies out there that have difficulties in raising money.
Avner	*Is there a serious and competitive cleantech industry developing in Israel?*
Astorre	The potential is out there but Israel needs a critical mass of funded companies in order to develop a healthy and competitive industry. Since more than half the companies won’t survive we need to have more funded companies so that we can reach that critical mass.
Avner	*Where do you think the capital needed to fund the industry will be coming from?*
Astorre	The first thing is that Israeli generalist VC’s need to get more seriously involved and committed in cleantech. In the US and Europe, most generalist funds are developing a serious cleantech focus and expertise within their establishment. I am not talking about someone who once a week looks at opportunities, that won’t work. In Israel we are seeing that the generalist VC’s are still investing very opportunistically with no clear strategy. The second thing I’d like to see is more foreign players in Israel. I believe the trend is already happening; there is great interest from foreign investors though unfortunately because of the bad year we’ve had overall we are only seeing sparse results.
Avner	*As the economy recuperates, do you think will we see a bubble develop in this industry?*
Astorre	You never know but I don’t believe that will happen in the next year or so. I think that except for a couple of exceptions, the numbers in the market look more solid. Solar which was probably one of the more inflated sectors has now gone down significantly. There is a huge over-capacity in solar for the next year of two so I see no potential bubble, quite the opposite; I see consolidation if not bankruptcy in that sector over the next few months. On the start-up level as well, apart from some outliers, most valuation have gone down to much more reasonable terms and in view of the supply-demand of capital I do not see them going up significantly in the next couple of years.
Avner	*What relative advantage does Israel have to offer in the cleantech industry?*
Astorre	First and foremost is the amazing level of entrepreneurship in Israel together with the multidisciplinary and flexible nature of Israelis in that they are able to quickly move from one field to the other. These transitions contribute to cross-fertilization of technologies and solutions between sectors and industries. Many cleantech projects are very multidisciplinary and the cleantech industry is a generally mature and slow market which hasn’t been dynamic in the last 20 to 30 years, so when someone from IT, software or telecom who has a culture of bringing innovation every month moves into cleantech he can bring “out-of-the-box’ concepts without the preconceived ideas which are deeply rooted in the industry.
Avner	*How do you think Israel can become a leader in the industry?*
Astorre	With the proper resources Israel can repeat the success it has achieved in high-tech thanks to the key expertise we have in solar, water, smart sensors, smart agriculture, biotech, materials coupled with our innovation, multidisciplinarity, entrepreneurship and the full start-up friendly ecosystem we have inherited from high-tech.
Avner	*What are the biggest challenges to the Israeli industry?*
Astorre	One of the challenges of cleantech compared to most sectors in high-tech is that cleantech is more of a “local” industry where different countries have different needs, regulations and physical conditions that have to be considered when implementing new infrastructure and technologies. For these reasons there is an importance in knowing the local issues of the target market. Also it is difficult to do a remote beta like you can do in software and sometimes like in wind you don’t have any local player to do a home, “friendly” test. With all this Israelis are particularly global-thinking compared to other countries so that at the end of the day, while the initial steps might be more difficult, it is easier to become a global company.

*On potential foreign markets and foreign investment in Israel…*
Avner	*Is the Israeli industry focusing on foreign markets and if so which ones specifically?*
Astorre	As I mentioned before it is a must for Israeli companies to have a global perspective especially due to the neighborhood in which Israel exists, and that makes them focus from day one on foreign markets. Although Asia should play a bigger role Europe is currently the first market for cleantech, with the US catching up. This of course is a generalization as each sector in cleantech has specific trends but this can give a general idea. As the Asian market grows and Israeli companies become more sophisticated and networked, it will definitely be the most interesting market provided one knows how to “play” it.
Avner	*What kind of foreign investors are we seeing getting interested and involved in the Israeli cleantech industry?*
Astorre	Most top US VCs have already started to check the Israeli scene seriously. As Cleantech is relatively new for most of them as well it might still take a few years to reach the high-tech level of foreign activity and it will probably be more focused in later stage deals. Eventually I believe we will also see more European players getting involved as there are quite a few dedicated players there so the potential is higher than in high-tech where European VCs are not in good shape. As for strategic players, most of the ones we are dealing with in this industry, in contrast to high-tech, are much less used to scouting innovation, investment and acquisition than the usual high-tech players. Apart from GE and partly Siemens there are very few players who have a track record or an infrastructure for strategic investment and acquisition of start-ups, although this is improving with time. This is a challenge for us since in Israel M&A is the most classic exit. Nevertheless, the ones that are active have recognized Israel as a key innovation spot for Cleantech and are coming here on a regular basis.
Avner	*Finally, what would you say to a foreign investor interested in Israeli cleantech?*
Astorre	There is a great opportunity in Israel. Compared to the US we have a lot more deal flow per $ invested in the field and what happened in High-Tech in the ‘90s is happening in Cleantech here but much more quickly.
Avner	*Thank you once again for the fascinating chat…and for the coffee.*
Astorre	It was a pleasure, good luck!