The Ministry of Energy and the Israel Innovation Authority announce research committee decision for grants to pilot programs following call for proposals for Israeli tech companies with a ready product/technology. Grants aimed at advancing the economy and developing an Israeli industry rich in knowledge in the areas of energy and water.
The joint call initiative offers support for commercial products to increase the number of technological developments that reach the stage of technological feasibility on an industrial scale and among relevant customers. The winning companies will be awarded a grant of up to 50% of the project's expenses.
Dr. Yael Herman, Head of the Research & Development Division in the Ministry of Energy’s Office of the Chief Scientist: “The Ministry of Energy understands that the way to meet the country’s goals in reducing emissions is through the promotion and maturation of ground-breaking technologies. With this in mind, the Ministry of Energy, and specifically the Office of the Chief Scientist, is making efforts with these grants to support innovation, remove regulatory roadblocks, and provide initial quotas for connecting to the electricity network. We believe that partnership between professional entities in the Ministry of Energy and the entrepreneurship experts in the Innovation Authority will lead to the significant development of ground-breaking technologies in the field of energy in Israel.”
Zvica Goltzman, Acting Vice-President, Head of Growth Division at the Israel Innovation Authority: “The Innovation Authority is working with different governmental entities on the pilot program, which plays a critical role in the process of implementing innovative technologies and creating regulation which enables the different pilot beta sites. During 2021, in the framework of these partnerships 157 grant requests were submitted to the pilot program, 67 of which were approved with grants awarded totaling NIS 69 million. The partnership between the public and private sectors will guarantee that Israel maintains its leading role as a technological innovation hub. Cooperation with the Ministry of Energy is critical in order to transform Israel into a “sandbox” for testing and implementing climate-tech technologies and for dealing with the climate crisis and reducing emissions.”
The three companies are: Augwind Energy Tech – The creation of a system for accumulating energy from renewable sources, which can be installed nearly everywhere. The system makes use of a storage that does not pollute and even helps with energy optimization, as well as supplying compressed air to factories.
ZOOZ Power (formerly Chakratec) – Testing a system for ultra-fast electric vehicle charging, based on a power booster that can charge the vehicle’s battery with high power, even in places where the electricity network (distribution network) is limited in supply. Ultra-fast charging allows an addition of around 200 kilometers after only 15 minutes of charging. ZOOZ’s power booster is based on a unique technology of accumulating kinetic energy in flywheels.
Seosol – a system for monitoring faults in solar panels using a thermographic scan carried out by a drone on farms throughout the country.