Getting rid of disposable plastic
Israel’s 2017 plastic bag law saves 7,091 tons of non-recyclable plastic from landfills every year. Now, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are removing disposable plastics from schools. Herzliya has launched its “City without Plastics” project. IKEA, Sodastream and many Israeli companies are following suit.
System to counter Gaza fire balloons
There is a new solution to stop the thousands of incendiary balloons, kites and drones that Gaza terrorists have launched to burn large areas of Israeli farmland. Light Blade’s laser system has a 2km range and tests were conducted during the past week.
Clean, renewable energy
Israel’s Ellomay is a developer of renewable energy and power projects in Europe and Israel. It has just sold 12 of its power plants in Italy to JP Morgan’s Sonnedix Group for 38.7 million Euros. Ellomay has another four photovoltaic plants in Spain.
“The Start-up Nation for Medical Innovation”
Dr Rob Norman’s new book explores the world of Israeli medical and scientific innovations. It highlights the achievements of some of the 1,000+ Israeli companies in healthcare or life-science products and provides compelling reasons why Israel is a world leader in innovation.
Study archaeology in Israel
For anyone wanting to study archaeology in English, Israel is probably the most significant region in the world to do it. Nowhere offers such a concentration of archaeological sites - from Neolithic to Crusader periods, underground and underwater. Summer courses are offered at Israeli universities.
Electronics to improve energy production
Professor Lior Kornblum, working in the Grand Energy Program (GTEP) at Israel’s Technion, is pioneering new ways to generate and store energy to meet rapidly expanding demand. He is developing smart electronic devices to improve energy efficiency.
Vegan meat wins award in London
Three Israeli food-tech initiatives were among 15 startups to pitch groundbreaking, sustainable solutions for the food and agriculture industry at FoodBytes by Rabobank in London. Redefine Meat won the People’s Choice Award, one of the three top prizes.
Breakthrough of the year
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem won Science Magazine’s People’s Choice for 2019 Breakthrough of the Year. HUJ researchers captivated the science world with their reconstruction from bone DNA of a Denisovan, a mysterious human-like species that disappeared 100,000 years ago.
Seven new joint US-Israel cleantech projects
The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial R&D (BIRD) Foundation will invest $6.4 million in seven clean energy R&D projects. The Israeli companies involved are Chakratec (energy storage), Exency (energy from waste), Elbit Systems, EcoPlant, Eta-Bar, Netafim and Ramot.
Sixth desalination plant approved
Israel’s National Infrastructure Committee green-lighted construction of a desalination plant in the Western Galilee - Israel’s sixth. It will provide 200 million cubic meters of water annually and save the cost of building infrastructure to move water from the South over the Carmel Ridge.