WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2015 - The Department of Energy (DOE),
in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy and
Water Resources (MIEW), recently announced funding recipients from the seventh
annual Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy program.
BIRD brings together experts from the U.S. and Israel to
encourage the use of clean energy technologies, foster natural gas regulations
that encourage sustainable development, explore the energy-water nexus and
enhance energy cybersecurity.
BIRD Energy funding projects must include one U.S. and one
Israeli company, or a company in one of the countries paired with a university
or research institution in the other. The companies must present a project that
involves innovation in the area of energy and is of mutual interest to both
countries. Qualified projects must contribute at least 50 percent to
project costs and commit to repay up to 150 percent of the grant if the project
leads to commercial success.
“Renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements are
essential to shaping our clean energy future,” says Energy Secretary Ernest
Moniz. “This partnership with Israel makes possible collaborative investments
that move us closer to rigorous technology breakthroughs. These advancements
are a key part of modernizing our energy infrastructure, enhancing our energy
security and mitigating the risks of global climate change.”
The six approved projects, totaling $5.1 million, and their
respective funding amounts are:
·
3GSOLAR (Israel) and Arkema
(King of Prussia, Pennsylvania), $900,000, will develop thin and flexible
printed solar photovoltaics (PV) for wireless electronics.
·
Ayyeka
Technologies Ltd. (Israel) and UIS Holdings Inc. (Dexter, Michigan),
$1,000,000, will develop smart-grid solutions for industrial and commercial
buildings to improve energy performance through remote metering and efficiency
analytics.
·
Haogenplast Ltd.
(Israel) and Global Solar Energy Inc. (Tucson, Arizona), $900,000,
will develop floating PV technology systems to reduce the cost of solar energy
production over water reservoirs.
·
Pentalum
Technologies (Israel) and Texas Tech University, $900,000, will collaborate
on the development of light detection and ranging that would use a system of
lasers and software tools and controls to increase power output from wind
farms.
·
Solaris Synergy (Israel) and Pristine
Sun LLC (San Francisco), $900,000, will collaborate on a utility scale,
low-cost floating PV solar energy system for deployment on water.
·
Yissum – The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Applied Biomathematics Inc.
(Setauket, New York), $500,000, will collaborate to develop software to
better assess the impact of wind turbines on avian species, which could assist
the permitting process to build wind farms and better protect birds and bats
near these facilities.
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