Pilots in environmental technologies granted support at a total of NIS 5.3 million

Ministry for Environmental Protection and the Israel Innovation Authority continue to support pilots in environmental technologies; granting NIS 5.3 million to Startups in this round of investment

Automatic monitoring of flies using seismic technology; mosquito dilution by releasing millions of infertile male mosquitos to nature; and advanced wall cladding made from agricultural waste and pruned branches from municipalities: the Ministry for Environmental Protection and the Israel Innovation Authority continue to support pilots in environmental technologies; granting NIS 5.3 million to Startups in this round of investment 

The Ministry for Environmental Protection and the Israel Innovation Authority are continuing to invest in environmental technologies pilots. During this funding round, five startup companies won a total of NIS 5.3 million for demonstrating innovative solutions in the areas of circular economy, air pollution, and hazardous materials. The requests were assessed by experts from the Ministry and the Israel Innovation Authority, and the approved grants constitute 50% of the approved costs for each of the projects. 

In light of the technological challenges in the area of climate and the environment, and the demand for governmental support for the commercialization and growth of innovative technologies, the investments program has been reopened for submissions, and companies are invited to submit pilot proposals until 6th March 2022. 

One of the main challenges facing the growth and commercialization of environmental technologies is the financing, and in particular when making the transition from demonstrating technological feasibility in the laboratory to installing a commercial-sized pilot in the field for the customer. The joint pilots program of the Ministry for Environmental Protection and the Innovation Authority was established in order to meet this challenge, and the budgetary support is aimed at assessing the feasibility of technologies that reduce environmental pollution and risks or optimize the usage of environmental resources on an industrial scale.

Dror Bin, Israel Innovation Authority CEO: “Israeli climate technologies companies have the potential to significantly help address the global climate crisis. The whole world is looking for technology to produce innovative and ground-breaking solutions for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and for coping with further ramifications of the crisis. The innovative Israeli climate technology industry is a significant player in the war against the climate crisis, and the Israeli companies who are blessed with ground-breaking out the box thinking are likely to leave their mark on the entire world. As a government we have a significant role in implementing the technologies being developed in Israel; on the one hand allowing Israeli companies to develop and gain real time experience, and on the other hand providing this benefit to the State and its entire population.” 

Avital Eshet, Head of Economic Policy and Tech Innovation, Ministry for Environmental Protection: “A few years ago, the Ministry for Environmental Protection already identified economic opportunities in marketing climate and environmental technologies around the world, and the fact that, in this context, Israel is not exhausting its local technological potential. Governmental support is necessary because environmental technologies are characterized by market failure, since in this field capital investment is expected to give a significant boost to the economy, but the risk is often too high, and the yield is in the far too distant future. Our successful collaboration with the Innovation Authority is expected to continue and expand, with the goal of nurturing an Israeli ecosystem that enlists local strengths for the sake of the struggle against the climate crisis, which is the most significant global risk we face today.”

Since its launch in 2018, the joint program has held six calls for proposals and there have been around 120 requests for support for enterprises demonstrating projects on a commercial scale, in different environmental areas, for example reducing air pollution, transport, renewable energies, energy efficiency, marine environment protection, managing and recycling waste, green construction, managing water resources and sewage, monitoring environmental hazards, and more.

The projects that have been approved for the winning companies:

• Agrint (sensing solutions) – implementing a pilot to automatically monitor flies using seismic technology, thus allowing precise management of the spraying of harmful pesticides. The pilot will be carried out in partnership with Volcani Institute and the Plants Production & Marketing Board at a number of agricultural sites.
• Daika Wood is carrying out a pilot to produce a unique wall cladding from wood, using circular economic principles. The products will be produced using wooden industrial waste, pruned branches from municipalities and agricultural waste, without using plastic and hazardous adhesives.  The pilot will be held at Polymer Gvulot.
• Diptera.ai is carrying out a pilot to exterminate mosquitoes, which constitute a major sanitary pest. The goal of the pilot is to prove the technological feasibility of diluting the Asian tiger mosquito population through releasing millions of infertile male mosquitoes into the wild using SIT method that avoids the use of chemical pesticides. The pilot will be carried out at Kibbutz Tzora. 
• Clean Flare is carrying out a pilot to monitor an industrial flare (a facility for neutralizing and burning gases), using cameras, with the goal of making burning efficient and reducing pollution. The pilot will be held at the Bazan facility in Haifa Bay.
• Emma Sensing is carrying out a pilot to assess a special technology for continuous monitoring of chlorine pipes and storage vessels that allow the discovery of developing corrosion and cracks in the pipe prior to an event of a gas leak. This is conducted using ultra-sonic sensors. The pilot will take place at the Dead Sea Magnesium Plant.