US-Israel Foundation Seeks Joint R&D Proposals For Renewable Energy, Natural Gas Projects

The US Department of Energy, Israel’s Ministry of Energy, and the Israel Innovation Authority announced this week a $16 million call for proposals for the new Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and Water Technology. The center is operated by the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, created in 1977 to foster collaboration between Israeli and American industries.

The proposals are to focus on areas such as natural gas, fossil energy, energy storage, cybersecurity and physical security for critical infrastructure, and water tech, the US Department of Energy said in a statement.

Commercial companies, research institutes, and universities from the US and Israel “are encouraged to form consortia of at least two unrelated entities from each country and apply,” the department added.

The BIRD foundation said that the conditional grant per project “is up to 50 percent of the R&D costs associated with the joint project, and up to a maximum of $1 million per project.”

The US and Israeli governments are set to provide $8 million each for the initial two-year launch of the Energy Center, with five-year awards envisioned.

“The research, development, and testing to be completed by the US-Israel Energy Center consortia will contribute significantly to science and innovation in the four technical areas, and will strengthen the unparalleled partnership between the United States and Israel,” said US Secretary of Energy Secretary Perry.

Israeli Minister of Energy Dr. Yuval Steinitz said he “certain the Energy Center will be a source of creative partnerships.”

“This collaboration brings significant value for the development of the energy industry in both countries as well as the promotion of additional sectors through effective energy management,” said Dr. Ami Appelbaum, Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry and Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority