US-Israel Foundation Calls For Project Proposals That Focus On Green Energy

BIRD Energy, the energy division of the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD) announced its next funding cycle for joint US-Israeli project proposals that focus on green development relating to renewable energy, improving energy efficiencies, and other decarbonizing technologies. 

Project proposals must include a joint R&D cooperation in which one company or academic institution is from the US and the other is from Israel in order to be considered. Proposals must also include commercialization as one of their ultimate goals.  Examples include proposals for solar and wind power tech and water tech.

The conditional grant is up to 50 percent of the combined project R&D budget, and up to a maximum of $1 million per project.

This year’s call for proposals includes a call for technologies that scale up carbon-free technologies and lower carbon emissions. The US and Israeli governments both agree on the urgent need to address the global climate crisis by accelerating the transition to a clean energy and carbon-free economy, BIRD said in the announcement.

BIRD Energy was created in 2009 by the US Department of Energy, Israel’s Ministry of Energy, and the Israel Innovation Authority, following the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It was established three decades after the BIRD foundation itself was established in 1977, to foster collaboration between Israeli and American industries. After more than a decade, BIRD Energy has funded 60 joint US-Israel clean energy projects for a total investment of approximately $47.5 million and approximately $62 million in funds matched by the private sector to commercialize clean energy technologies.

“BIRD Energy…supports initiatives that promote innovative technology in clean energy that combat climate change,” said Limor Nakar-Vincent, deputy executive director for business development and BIRD Energy. “The program provides funding for cooperation to advance sustainable and renewable sources of energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. BIRD can assist U.S. and Israeli companies and universities in their search for potential partners and support them in their proposal Submissions.

The application process is web-based and requires a prior discussion with BIRD Foundation. Deadline for executive summary submissions is June 30th. If approved, the deadline for the full-scale proposals is August 16. Projects will be selected for funding in November. Refer to BIRD’s website for submission details.