Israeli cleantech companies prove natural fit in California

Via Israel21c:

By Karin Kloosterman
November 19, 2008

The American economy has been flipped on its head, yet companies, authorities and investors in California know that the current financial woes can't stop the advancement of clean technology. The future of the world depends on it. And Israel, they realize, may be a part of the solution.

As a recognized leader in the industry, California's green business movers and shakers invited a dozen of Israel's most promising clean technology startups to the United States last week. The mission was to familiarize the Californians with the opportunities presented by a handpicked group of Israelis, and to help the Israelis position themselves and polish their business plans.

Organized by the California Israel Chamber of Commerce (CICC) and the Cleantech Group, the participants in the "CICC Israel Cleantech Company Showcase" were selected by a steering committee that included some of the industry's most prominent organizations - including PG&E, the California Public Utilities Commission and Israel Cleantech Ventures - who chose from a range of Israeli companies that could help fulfill California's desire for energy independence, and an environmentally friendlier future.

The Israeli companies chosen from over 40 applicants included: 3G Solar, BotanoCap, Canarius, Cequesta Water, Coriolis Wind, CellEra, CES - Computerized Electricity Systems, Emefcy - Bio Energy Systems, HCL Clean Tech, Metrolight, SOVNA, and Tigo Energy.

The companies were chosen based on needs in California. "Ultimately, the top 12 were floating to the top in terms of the number of points they got during the steering company selection process," says Shuly Galili, the executive director of the CICC, a US-based NGO. "We made sure there was a good selection: solar, water or wind; energy efficiency or renewable energy, water technologies etc."

Positive feedback, continued dialogue

From November 11 through the 14th, the participants met prominent Californian bodies including the California Public Utilities Commission, General Electric, Google, Applied Materials and venture capital funds including VantagePoint Venture Partners, US Venture Partners, Virgin Green Fund, and Greylock Partners. Although it's too early to assess what partnerships, investments or joint ventures will come from the meet, Galili and the Israeli executives who participated are very optimistic about the future.

"I can tell you that there were a number of places where the companies received positive feedback from potential partners and interest in continued dialogue," Galili tells ISRAEL21c. "This is the first time that a lot of these companies [in America] were exposed to Israeli cleantech. I think that these [participants] will be back for additional meetings based on this trip, which allowed for a first encounter. I have no doubt that these companies will have a lot of follow-up.

"Despite the financial meltdown in the US we saw very positive interest from investors, who wanted to do follow up. There is a potential, and this particular space in California is not experiencing a meltdown. As a side note, some of these [Israeli] companies are very early stage companies. I think the point here was to allow them to have a very wide perspective to position their companies - to help them be smart business-wise."

Californians head to Israel in June

According to the CICC, California and Israel are a natural clean tech fit. And this recent showcase meeting allowed California-based investors and companies to have a first taste of what Israel does, adds Galili, noting that Californian reps will be expected to come to Israel next June.

One of Israel's "clean dozen" to visit California, included Cequesta Water, an Israeli company that has developed innovative new solutions for sludge dewatering and wastewater treatment for small production plants.

David Waimann, the president of Cequesta Water tells ISRAEL21c: "The trip was magnificently organized and the most impressively organized sales trip I have ever been on. California will always be the center for cleantech investment in the world, particularly northern California, Silicon Valley.

"We met all kinds of very interesting people from the financial and project world. Two particular funds want to receive more information," concludes Waimann.

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Technology Links:

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Israel Science and Technology

Globes - Israel's Business Arena

The Marker

Standard and Poor's Israel

Israel High Tech TV

American Technion Society

Israel High-Tech and Investment Report

Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD)

Israel-U.S. Binational Science Foundation (BSF)

Israeli Research Institute for R&D (MATIMOP)

The US Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF)

Israel Association of Electronic and Information Industries

Innovation Israel program: Creative summer for American high school students

American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science

Ben Gurion University

Israel and Korea to Boost Environmental Cooperation

Via Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection:

Israel Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra and his Korean counterpart Environment Minister Lee Maanee signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral environmental cooperation on November 12, 2008.

Under the agreement, the two countries will enhance cooperation on air pollution, climate change, biological diversity and sewage disposal and will promote exchanges between environmental experts.

Among the subjects discussed by the two ministries during Minister Lee Maanee’s visit to Israel were renewable energies and efficient use of water resources. The ministers called on professionals in their respective ministries to review possibilities for joint projects and continue coordination in international environmental forums.

An electrifying solution for wastewater treatment

Via: Israel 21c

By Karin Kloosterman
October 12, 2008

Industrial and municipal waste doesn't go away when we flush it down the drain. It takes an enormous amount of energy for treatment plants to process it, while massive environmental and financial costs go into disposing of the leftover sludge.

Now, two Israelis are about to change the way we look at wastewater, by turning its constituents into a valuable source of power.

Emefcy (M.F.C Microbial Fuel Cell) was founded in 2007 by Eytan Levy and his partner Ronen Shechter. It aims to harness a bacteria found in nature that produces electricity as it decomposes organic matter.

Electric bacteria known to science

"The idea was found about 100 years ago, that certain bacteria under certain conditions have the ability to generate electricity," Levy tells ISRAEL21c. "The reactor has to be structured in a certain way, and generate it while consuming organic matter."

Over the years teams of scientists tried to harness the power of the bacteria. "But it was never turned into a product, possibly due to the natural barrier between academia and industry," explains Levy, Emefcy's CEO.

Levy and his partner revived the idea, and are now working with a leader on microbial fuel cells, Bruce E. Logan from Pennsylvania State University. To optimize electricity production, the eight-man Caesarea-based company has created a network of tubes made from a special polymer - the cathodes - and a network of carbon brush anodes that together promote bioelectrochemical reactions.

The net result is that bacteria form an electrical conductive biofilm over the surface of the anodes and cathodes, decompose organic matter, and produce electricity at the same time.

This bioelectrochemical reaction is performed by three main bacteria, Geobacter sulfurreducens, Shewanella oneidensisand Rhodoferax ferrireducens, already present naturally in wastewater effluent. The company's main goal, however, is to give the "electrifying" bacteria optimal conditions to digest the human and organic industrial waste in sewage treatment plants.

While the charge from each bacterium is tiny, about half a volt, the company can step it up to 220V, while each kilogram of organic contamination can produce 1-kilowatt hour of electricity, says Levy. In large industrial wastewater plants, Emefcy's solution can produce megawatts of electricity. A real power plant, Levy says.

Tiny volts that add up

He believes the enormous cost savings of about 30-50 percent per year on various practices, can allow a power plant to achieve a return on investment (ROI) within two to three years. The solution has a number of financial benefits, he points out: the sale of generated electricity, treatment plants save money on aerating the sewage, the process reduces the amount of raw sludge for disposal by up to 90 percent; and working with this system can generate carbon credits.

The Emefcy solution can be an add-on to existing plants, and is expected to be on the market by 2010.

Levy and Shechter are specialists at inventing solutions for making the wastewater treatment market more efficient, and environmentally sound.

Before Emefcy, they founded AqWise, a company which specializes in creating tiny plastic beads to house and aerate bacteria, in order to increase the breakdown of biological waste in treatment plants. Today AqWise has 30 installations around the world.

With Emefcy, Levy and Shechter plan "to reinvent the wheel in the wastewater world," says Levy. "We realized we were incorrect," he explains. "Treatment plants are spending energy to purify wastewater and there is something wrong with that. Wastewater has energetic value."

Emefcy has received seed funding of $1 million from Israel Cleantech Ventures, additional undisclosed support, and a grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist in Israel.