STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center 1

National Water and Energy Programs

The Israeli Experience

Country ID

Maps: Wikipedia

Main Cities: Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva

GDP: $199.0 Billion (2008)

Population: ~ 7.4 millions

Area: 22,000 sqkm

Israeli Breakthroughs – Selected Examples

“Netafim” was the first to introduce low volume irrigation –

impacting irrigation practices around the world

Given Imaging – First ingestible video camera used to view

the small intestine and diagnose disorders

Intel’s Centrino and Pentium 4 microprocessors

M System’s Disk on Key and Disk on Chip flash memory

GE Healthcare’s portable cardiac ultrasound system

The Phillips Brilliance CT Scanner

IP Telephony invented by founders of Vocal Tec

AOL Instant Messenger ICQ

Zip compression technology

Israel’s Competitive Edge – IMD World Report 2008

Country Rank

BUSINESS EXPENDITURE ON R&D

TOTAL EXPENDITURE ON R&DAS A PRECENTAGE OF GDP

AVAILABILITY OF QUALIFIED ENGINEERS

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER BETTERN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA

VENTURE CAPITAL AVAILABILITY

2nd

Sweden

Sweden

Israel

Israel

Hong Kong

3rd

Japan

Finland

Chile

Switzerland

Israel

4th

Korea

Japan

Taiwan

Source: IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook - 2008

1st

Israel

Israel

Singapore

Singapore

U.S.A

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS Singapore Israel

Singapore

Sweden U.S.A

U.S.A

Israel Ranks 20th in Global Competitiveness

RESILIENCE OF THE ECONOMY Australia Denmark Switzerland Israel

Israel’s Cultural Ecosystem

Dynamic Culture

Informal yet Efficient Society

Power of Distance

Strong connection between

government, private

sector, and academia

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center 6

Main problem: Lack of Water

And Energy

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center 7

“Solar energy is

the largest and most impressive

source of energy in our world”

David Ben Gurion 1955

Israel - Government Perspective

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

Key Elements For The Water Community

5 Elements :

Clear Legal Framework Integrated Water Management Water economy Water Saving Society Technology

Energy Innovation

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

15 lost years for solar thermal

National lab setup Luz I

Solar water heatersLuz II

Fields of Expertise

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

Unique Position Unique Position

Water Energy

Water Security

Water Management

Water Reuse

Desalination

Irrigation

Wind

Solar

Biofuels

Energy Efficiency

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center 11

Israel NEWTech

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

Government Decision number 157 on 18.06.2006Development of water technology in Israel

Israel's position as a global leader for water solutions in the water market industry depends on the recognition of the latent potential that water technology could have on the Israeli economy; and on the importance and centrality that government and private companies have in this market, in Israel and in the exporting industry. It is equally important to examine the methods and the means that different governmental offices can use to support the development of water technology, from the R&D stage to the manufacturing and exporting stages….

The Government Decision

Government decision for extension of the program till 2011, 28/7/08

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

Increasing

R&D

Activities

Encouraging

Innovation

Strengthening

Human

Capital

Penetrating

World

Market

Key Elements of the program

STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

WATEC 2009