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In collaboration with Israeli NGO Start-Up Nation Central, the Jewish National Fund (JNF Canada) and KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund) and with the support of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, have officially launched a call for applications for the “Climate Solutions Prize,” a competition divided into two tracks to encourage the development of made-in-Israel technologies to combat climate change.
According to the organizations, this is the largest incentive prize that is Israel-focused in Israeli history.
Prizes in excess of $2 million will be given to Israeli startups and researchers who have innovative solutions in the area of climate change. A special climate innovation event will be held in October and announce the winners in a number different categories.
In an event launching the call for applications at Peres Center on Tuesday, Amit Harel, a partner and co-leader of Deloitte Catalyst and one of the panelists speaking about the Israeli Climate Tech Ecosystem called the day “historic” and said Tuesday, March 1 “would always be remembered as a day that climate was really launched in Israel.”
“If we really wanna move the needle on climate change, we in Israel can contribute our most valuable resource – the energy and brainpower of our people. That’s where we can make a difference,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said as he virtually addressed the event’s crowd of government representatives, investors, CEOs, and academics in a recorded video message, “If the world wants to reach its goals it needs new technologies that have not yet even been invented. And we in Israel need to innovate, invent and execute,”
“It’s my hope that this prize will further enable Israeli technology to fight climate change and beat this war, win this war,” he added.
Start-Up Nation Central, Emily Levi-Shochat Deputy Chair, KKL-JNF Chair of the Environment and Science Committee Chemi Peres Chairman of Peres Center For Peace and Innovation Avi Hasson CEO Start-Up Nation Central
The event to open the call for applications was held at the Peres Center and featured discussions, panels, fireside chats, and later invite-only roundtable discussions with Israel’s leading climate and tech experts including Avi Hasson, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, Uriel Klar, head of PLANETech, Ari Siegmann, director of business development at the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), and Chemi Peres, son of the late Shimon Peres, partner and co-founder of venture capital firm Pitango, and chairman of the Peres Center. In a video address, Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, addressed the crowd.
“We are joining forces with partners from the philanthropic and business realms to harness Israel’s agile and creative tech ecosystem to come up with solutions to the biggest shared challenge of our times,” said Hasson.
“Climate should be the next cyber for Israel,” Harel said. He was comparing the potential of Israel’s relatively new climate tech sector to the cybersecurity sector, a field where the country is known as a world leader.
There are two tracks to the initiative. The Breakthrough Research Prize is a $1 million grant that Israeli scientists and researchers can receive. In recognition of their efforts in finding solutions to the global climate crisis, the prize will only be awarded to four researchers. The judging panel will evaluate the proposals and announce the winner during a live competition that will be held in Israel. It will also be broadcast worldwide. Please submit your applications by June 1, 2010.
The other is the Startup Track, which runs a series of challenges that offer a startup a $1 million equity investment from climate tech and sustainability-focused investment company Capital Nature; a $40,000 cash prize from Israeli-American international manufacturing company Kornit Digital to promote sustainability in the textile industry; a $40,000 cash prize from Israeli smart energy solutions firm Solar Edge for an energy tech solution for energy management, renewable energy, and more; a $40,000 cash prize from German multinational science and tech giant Merck for a solution dealing with greener materials, packaging, and supply chains for biotech and semiconductors; a $40,000 cash prize from Singapore’s Temasek Foundation to promote sustainability in urban environments in Southeast Asia; and two $20,000 cash prizes for two different winners from ESIL (Environmental Sustainability Innovation Lab) for early-stage rising stars and mature startups pivoting towards climate tech. Please submit your applications by May 25th.
This competition is yet another way to position the country in the global climate tech innovation hub.
“We are seeing the dramatic impact of climate change all over the world and it is clear that this important issue has become urgent. But in a world of interests and fears, in a world tearing with distrust, a global crisis can become a catalyst for partnerships because latent in every crisis is an opportunity,” said President Herzog in his video address, “This is why the Climate Solutions Prize initiative is precisely what we need today. This prize excites the Israeli creativity, curiosity, and innovation that has made us a startup country and motivates us to live up. This is Israel’s opportunity to be a global leader in meeting the challenge of climate change.”
Israeli PM Bennett emphasized the importance of innovation in combating climate change. “It’s my hope that this prize will further enable Israeli technology to fight climate change and win this war. Israeli scientists have transformed Israel into a world leader in this field, but we’ve got so much more to offer. Together we can join forces so our children can breathe cleaner air, drink cleaner water, and live in a world that will treat the planet better than we did,” he said.
Nation of climate innovation
In late October, Israeli PM Bennett told world leaders at the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow that Israel can “lead the way” and “become a Nation of climate innovation.” Just two weeks prior, PLANETech, the Israeli nonprofit community focused on climate technologies established earlier this year as a joint venture of Israel Innovation Institute and Consensus Business Group, released an extensive report on the climate tech sector. The ReportIt was clear that there were still many challenges ahead, and that there was plenty of room for improvement., There was a significant increase in the number of Israeli startups that deal with climate issues.
According to PLANETech, IIA and SNC, climate tech firms in Israel are companies that make an effort to address climate issues through their businesses, but not necessarily with products that only focus on climate change. According to SNC Israel has over 700 technology companies currently working on solutions for climate change. A new landscape was revealed during the prize launch. MapThe following list contains the top companies that have solutions for the climate crisis.
PLANETech stated that climate tech is the fastest-growing and most promising field of high-tech in Israel. However, it was only recently that it became clear that Israel was following the global trend.
Israel is poised to be a major player in the climate innovation sector and tech sector. Climate tech companies in Israel will be established by 2021 More than $2.2 billion was raisedPLANETech claims that there has been a rise in investments in Israel. The Israeli nonprofit community focusing on climate technologies was established earlier this ye as a joint venture between Israel Innovation Institute, headed by Dr. Jonathan Menuhin and Consensus Business Group.
“By the end of 2021, the annual investments in Israeli climate tech companies reached $2.2 billion, exceeding last year’s fundraising record of $1.4 billion by 57 percent,” said PLANETech director Klar when the data was released near the end of December.
Israeli companies and researchers can submit applications to the Climate Solutions Prize for Israeli companies and researchers who have Israeli solutions to address renewable energies, recycling, carbon absorption, and waste reduction. Here.
