A world facing climate change that threatens human health and long-term existence needs proven models that point the way to achieving a sustainable future. Israel, poised to join the inner circle of climate leaders, is a success story and a model for others to follow. Recently, Medika Life visited several of Israel’s start-ups in climate technology to gain a first-hand understanding of whether the world can move quickly enough to overcome the threat of climate change. Like many other nations, Israel has turned its attention to the net zero call-to-action.
Already recognized for its health, defense, and technology achievements, the country is emerging rapidly as a global environmental innovation leader. How can such a small nation punch so heavily above its weight in high science and intense engineering advances? Simply put, Israel has all the right stuff: more engineers per capita than most developed nations, an entrepreneurial, collaborative energy that is infectious, a heavy focus on STEM, and a keen business understanding that Israel is a critical development-center hub with North America and Europe as the primary business targets.
According to Start-Up Nation Central, the non-profit that connects Israel’s tech and science community to the world, almost 1,000 Israeli enterprises are pursuing a range of decarbonization, climate adaptation, and environmental protection technologies with the potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change and address its root causes.
Israel plans to rub shoulders with the world’s leading NGOs and companies and highlight its advances at the upcoming COP28 gathering in Dubai. Under the banner of the Israeli Innovation Authority – a collaborative body of government agencies – this organization announced that it will sponsor 100 Israeli environmental innovation start-ups and expects to bring a 1,000-person delegation to Dubai at the end of November for the three-week convening of policy leaders, mega-corporations and change agents.
During the summer trip, we met with 11 companies on the frontlines of climate tech innovation. We cannot say whether they are among those the Israel Innovation Authority will sponsor – but they should undoubtedly be on the sector’s “to-follow” radar screen. As necessary, their subsectors – biodegradables, food supply, renewable energy, sustainable urban development, and water supply – reinforce how environmental innovation has become big business.
Biodegradables
Biodegradables are crucial for addressing climate change and reducing the burden of persistent waste. Unlike conventional plastics, they minimize pollution and conserve resources. Inventing products and promoting greater use can mitigate plastic-related emissions, decrease landfill waste, and advance toward a more sustainable future.
What happens to shrink-wrap after it is discarded? Unsurprisingly, it often ends up in landfills with other non-biodegradable waste products. Solutum is addressing this challenge and may enable mega-companies to comply quickly with policies from 28 countries that have laws to encourage reduced and greater recycling of discarded packaging. The company seeks to reduce plastic pollution through sturdy and biodegradable alternatives. Its approach uses natural biomass that dramatically reduces fossil fuel use. It controls the compound’s temperature sensitivity to water through proprietary manufacturing to create predetermined temperature and dissolving times to eliminate waste from landfills. LinkedIn
Here is the Medika Life feature article on Solutum.
Wet wipes are a plastic-based product that clog pipes and enter septic systems. They are another ubiquitous plastic product entering water systems. WipeFlush founder Moshe Toprovsky is a lawyer by training and now a declared environmentalist. Toprovsky came up with an idea to make the wipe industry sustainable and support the continued convenience of wipes without damaging the environment. While at an early stage, the category is a must-watch. LinkedIn
Food-Chain Sustainability
Plant-based alternative meat options are an environmental priority and reduce the carbon impact of traditional animal agriculture. Tasty alternatives require fewer natural resources, produce lower greenhouse gas emissions, use less land and water, and attract corporate and consumer interest. The faster we shift toward plant-based proteins, the sooner we can tackle the pressing climate challenges of deforestation and excessive water usage while ensuring a sustainable food supply to meet the growing global demand.
The world is moving in the direction of consuming less meat. Some cite health priorities, and others are concerned about how meat production raises our carbon footprint. Yet, according to More Foods CEO Leonardo Markovitz, though most consumers want to reduce their meat consumption to live healthier lives, consumers don’t consider today’s meatless options healthy. The health-conscious, discerning public sees what’s in alternative meat products and aren’t impressed by the ingredients. More Foods has developed a new, scalable platform using pumpkin and sunflower seeds, leveraging the ability to extract oil from the seeds and create a scrumptious product already finding its way into popular restaurant chains. More Foods uses the leftover fragments from this process, turning them into a powder and a textured product. LinkedIn
Renewable Energy
Renewable energy innovation is essential to confront climate change and ensure a sustainable future. There’s no way around it: we must transition away from fossil fuels. By advancing technologies like solar, wind, and hydropower, it is possible to reduce carbon footprints and create new economic opportunities. Innovation in renewables for some nations will lead to energy independence and pave the way for a resilient energy infrastructure that meets global energy demands while preserving the planet.
Transitioning entirely to electric cars and trucks seems like a no-brainer. The barrier to entry for car fleet managers, city planners and consumers is access to charging stations. Where to place power and how much requires data analysis and usage trends. Here is where cloud-based technology and AI can accelerate the adoption of the category. BrightMerge has created its “Microgrid Operations Platform” to help decision-makers better understand how much power a grid can produce and determine where and when to supplement the energy needs. LinkedIn
The earth has enough sun and wind to meet renewable energy consumption needs. First Airborne is well on its way to helping wind farms address one of the sector’s biggest challenges – efficiency and profitability. The potential of wind power lies in its ability to generate clean electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to energy diversification. Now, it is one of the fastest-growing infrastructures in history. Measuring wind power is crucial to secure its place as a practical solution, and First Airborne is at the forefront of combining drone and highly sensitive measurement technologies to enable wind power to reach its greatest potential.
Here is the Medika Life feature on First Airborne.
Wind power needn’t interrupt the natural landscape. The company’s wind turbines capture the look of “tulips,” which are low-noise and produce alternative energy on-or-off the utility grid. Flower Turbine is global – headquartered in New York, it operates a European subsidiary, its -manufacturing plant is in The Netherlands, and its engineering team is rooted in Israel. Its move from start-up to commercial operation underscores the potential of this company to scale up and secure multi-national government contracts. LinkedIn
Hard to believe? Just watch:
Rhino Eco promises to make solar and clean energy accessible. People have moved past the aesthetic hesitancy of having solar power panels affixed to their rooftops. Cost remains a factor, however, and individual companies offering solar panel installation must lower the barriers to adoption. Drawing upon the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Rhino Eco uses “fintech” to empower climate tech solar energy purchasing decisions. The solar panel sector includes larger and smaller contractors. Rhino Eco supports the sector – from installers to home owners – by offering several loan and lease financing options through its network and uses aggregated information technology to personalize financing possibilities tailored to each homeowner’s needs. LinkedIn
Sustainable Urban Development
Urban clusters contribute significantly to climate change due to increased energy consumption, heat island effects, and carbon emissions. New construction materials with improved insulation and reduced carbon footprint are crucial to counter this. Also, “bioshade”— strategically planting trees and vegetation—mitigates heat, enhances air quality, and reduces energy needs for cooling. Implementing these innovations in urban design can curb climate change, create sustainable cities, and improve the quality of urban life.
Increasing population density in urban centers is matched by deforestation and construction. Society is creating “urban heat islands.” Planned and scaled vegetation cover can help. Planting trees in cities can help. But trees require growing time – and heat waves are frequent and dangerous. BioShade Green Infrastructure is one pathway to reduce urban hot spots. This proven nature-based solution provides biological shading, natural shade, and natural cooling benefits, improving city air quality. LinkedIn
State, Federal, and local governments on the coast recognize that water lines are rising. Concrete reef barriers are the go-to solutions as populations build along desirable coastlines. However, this leads to ecosystem degradation – increasing risks to coastal residents, environmental marine life, and longer-term biodiversity.
Marine artificial reefs and water barriers are usually concrete-based, and designers too frequently disregard biodiversity priorities and ecological impact. Low-cost materials secure the “low-bid position” on public works contracts. But, what appears to be low-cost has a tremendous economic impact. Kicking the can down the road when it comes to construction sustainability is becoming costly. ECOncrete has created a material composition and design that supports biological sustainability and marine life. Its benefits are many. This environmental construction advance improves structural performance and reduces mitigation fees and penalties cost-effectively. LinkedIn
Among the more expensive elements in construction is cement. However, expense is only one part of the architect’s and construction company’s burden. Cement production contributes to substantial carbon emissions, consuming fossil fuels and releasing CO2 during manufacturing and curing processes, significantly contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions. Each ton of concrete produces around 910 kg of CO2. GreenVibe has “wearable-like” technology to measure how much concrete concentration is needed to build safer, environmentally sound structures. Accurate factual data can reduce cement usage in the industry by 25%. LinkedIn
Water Supply
Climate-independent atmospheric water generation offers a transformative solution to water scarcity. By extracting moisture from the air, this technology provides a reliable water source regardless of regional climatic conditions. It reduces pressure on traditional water sources, enhances resilience to droughts, and ensures a more secure and accessible water supply for communities worldwide.
Today, there are two main methods of atmospheric water generation:
- Liquid desiccant absorption, and:
- Cooling and condensation.
These methods have high water maintenance and are limited geographically by relative humidity rate. BeAir is taking on this technological challenge. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the company’s engineers have adapted membrane material from high-precision medical devices. The result is a new pathway – an accessible and easy-to-place almost anywhere – system that generates drinkable water from “thin air” using a precise energy force using 60% less power than other sector players. Be Air seeks to redefine how to tap into climate-independent atmospheric water generation with reduced energy requirements and minimal maintenance. LinkedIn
The Climate Innovation Model
Israel has become a must-watch global hub in addressing climate change and promoting sustainability through the Israeli government’s support for collaboration that brings together a matchless entrepreneurial ecosystem, technologists with a proven track record of practical advancements, and a community of thriving startups. Other nations – particularly emerging nations – face similar challenges and conditions, and they can lead the charge in a global transition to a greener, more sustainable future by fostering collaboration to create an infrastructure that guides, supports and brings purpose-centered investors to the table of possibilities. These 11 companies and the 1,000 plus more in Israel may be role models for environmental innovation we should support through counsel, connections, and investment.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Nicole Grubner, partner and Environmental Innovation Lead, FINN Partners Israel, Cullen Burnell, chief of staff, Health and Purpose, FINN Partners, Levi Shapiro, founder and curator, mHealth Israel, Adam Salkin, partner, Herzog Law, Tel Aviv, Israel and to all the climate tech champions in the “Start-Up Nation” for sharing with me their efforts to improve planet earth.
