Opportunities for Funding U.S.-Israel Cooperation for Renewable Energy and Efficiency
New Call for Proposals issued by BIRD Energy, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Israel Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources jointly with the Israel Innovation Authority.
bird energy announced its tenth funding cycle for u.s.-israel joint project proposals with a focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
to be considered, a project proposal must include r&d cooperation between two companies or cooperation between a company and a university/research institution (one from the u.s. and one from israel). the proposal should have significant commercial potential and the project outcome should lead to commercialization. examples of research and development topics within the scope of this call are: solar and wind power, advanced vehicle technologies and alternative fuels, smart grid, storage, water-energy nexus, advanced manufacturing or any other renewable energy/energy efficiency technology.
the conditional grant per project is up to 50% of the r&d costs associated with the joint project, and up to a maximum of $1 million per project. the u.s.-israel energy cooperation was strengthened significantly in 2014 when the u.s. congress passed a law promoting the strategic partnership between the two countries. according to u.s. energy secretary rick perry, “this kind of collaboration will be mutually beneficial and allow both countries to achieve their economic and security energy goals.”
dr. eitan yudilevich, executive director of the bird foundation, said: “we are pleased to encourage joint u.s.-israel projects relating to green energy and energy efficiency. this is the tenth year that the bird energy program has been working to promote technological developments in the renewable energy sector. since the beginning of the bird energy program, 42 projects have been approved, several of which are starting to generate commercial success and initial sales.”