Israel Innovation 2.0

Disclosure: The following is partially a recap of Twestival Jerusalem ’09, an event that I helped organize.

In a recent post about Green Any Site, I mentioned that Jerusalem took part in a worldwide effort to raise money for Charity: Water in Africa. The event, a Twestival (short for Twitter festival), raised over NIS 2000 in Jerusalem for Charity: Water, which will use this money and the money raised from the over 200 other Twestivals around the world (over $250,000 USD) to build wells that will provide clean water to villages in Africa and India.

As Israel is a leader in water technology and several of the co-organizers’ organizations, including Jewish Climate Initiative, Green Any Site, PresenTense and GreenProphet are connected to cleantech in some way, Twestival Jerusalem took on an additional component of educating attendees on clean technology and water technology from Israel.

Some Israeli water technology companies that stand out when addressing water needs, in Africa and elsewhere, include Desalitech, AqWise and Netafim. Here is what each company is doing:

Desalitech:  Desalitech has created a reverse osmosis water treatment technology that can lower desalinated water prices to a level that will make water affordable to developed and developing areas. It’s desalination technology offers reductions of up to 50% in the installation costs of desalination plants and in desalination energy consumption as well as a reduction in maintanence and operating expenses. It’s surface and ground water reclamation technology is currently bringing clean water to villages in Africa and abroad.

AqWise: Aqwise is an innovator in developing and implementing wastewater treatment technologies that can be used in municipal, agricultural and industrial wastewater treatement plants. Its AGAR^® Process can be used for both organic carbon and nutrient removal. At the heart of the process are little plastic biomass carriers that filter and treat the water in a similar manner to the way rocks filter water.

Netafim: Netafim has been around since 1965 and is one of Israel’s first innovators in the agriculture sector. Aside from greenhouse and bio-energy solutions, it provides irrigation solutions and products that enable customers to get the most from their crops (both in quality and yields) while using as minimal an amount as possible of valuable resources, such as water.

Over the past few Fridays, I have been exploring water technology in Israel and giving examples of why this is an emerging field for Israel and Israeli companies. So far, I have briefly explained the origins of this field in Israel and listed some government and VC initiatives that are helping this field emerge. To complement last week’s summary of current investment activities in Israel that will help make Israel known as the leader in water-technology solutions internationally, this week’s edition will detail the technologies that Israel has applied and excelled in over the years.

To begin with, according to the WATEC website, Israel has come to stand out in recent years for having the:

* The world’s largest RO (reverse osmosis) desalination plant
Located in Ashkelon, this plant is internationally recognized as the most advanced in seawater reverse osmosis. A synthetic membrane rejects salt while it passes fresh water at “reasonable flow rates and realistic pressures.” Though this technology has been around since 1959 in the United States, in recent years it has been widely adopted by Middle Eastern countries, with Israel emerging at the forefront with its highly advanced plant that is run by IDE Technologies, Ltd. The plant has attracted attention for producing 100 million m3/year at one of the lowest prices in the world. In doing this, the plant produces around 13% of the country’s domestic consumer demand – equivalent to 5–6% of Israel’s total water needs.

Overall, the plant provides:
* adequate pre-treatment
* a high-pressure pump and an efficient energy recovery system
* a membrane assembly
* post treatment (if necessary)

* The world’s most developed irrigation methods
66% of Israel is considered arid. The lack of water resources in these areas (mainly Southern Israel) has been the main inspiration for farmers to try new, innovative irrigation techniques to make the desert blossom. Probably Israel’s field with the most advancements when it comes to water technology, drip irrigation is the main method used to conserve water while making sure that plants and and farming land get enough water. According to the Israeli Government’s export Website,

“drip irrigation is the most efficient method as regards water saving. Since the drippers emit the water directly to the soil adjacent to the root system, which absorbs the water immediately, evaporation to the air is minimal. This effect is especially important under the conditions prevailing in arid zones.”

Additionally, the Website goes on to explain that unlike other methods, drip irrigation “makes it possible to utilize saline water by eliminating direct contact between the water and the leaves, thus avoiding burns.” It also “allows the use of sewage water because the water is delivered directly to the ground, minimizing health risks.”

While desalination and drip irrigation are more mature water areas with established revenue streams that are growing, Israel’s water industry is also becoming known for having “the world’s highest reused wastewater rate,” and “the world’s most advanced national water management system.” With Israel’s continued focus on becoming the “Silicon Valley” of water technology title, several Israeli companies in these areas are starting to get heightened attention from both the media and investors. Don’t miss next Friday’s entry on which Israeli companies you should watch out for in this field in the next few years.