European Union bank to fund 35% of new northern Israel desalination plant

Israel will receive €150 million (NIS 590 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB) toward the €425m. construction of the Western Galilee desalination plant – the first such plant to be constructed in northern Israel, the bank announced Sunday.

“Desalination is critical to preserving water as a natural resource,” said Alon Tavor, CEO of IDE Technologies, the Israeli water treatment and desalination company leading the project. “IDE is committed to expanding the impact of technology to increase access to fresh drinking water. The EIB is a key financier for desalination in Israel, and I welcome the €150m. EIB backing for the Western Galilee project that will increase water supply to residents and businesses of northern Israel.”

IDE will construct the plant as part of a Public Private Partnership with the Finance and Energy ministries and the Israel Water Authority. It will be responsible for planning and financing the project and operating it for 25 years after completion.

Israel's seventh desalination plant

The new Galilee plant, to be named Birkat Miriam, is Israel’s seventh desalination plant. Like the others, it will convert seawater into freshwater. The country’s other desalination plants are in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Palmachim, Hadera, and Sorek 1 and Sorek 2 south of Tel Aviv. IDE also constructed Sorek 2.

The Western Galilee plant is expected to bring the total production of desalination plants in Israel to almost 900 million cu.m. per year, representing 85%-90% of household and industrial water consumption, according to a release by EIB.

“What is so significant here is the alignment between European policies on climate and the needs of Israel to build climate resilience,” Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of EcoPeace Middle East, told The Jerusalem Post. “The EIB as the European bank is reflecting that alignment, and Israel is capitalizing on it.”

“Israel and the European Union are committed to scaling up climate action and the green transition,” added Dimiter Tzantchev, EU Ambassador to Israel. “The EIB’s backing for Israel’s first renewable energy-powered desalination plant demonstrates our close partnership in tackling climate change and improving water security challenges together.”

EIB’s support was confirmed Sunday by its vice president, Gelsomina Vigliotti, during the Climate Resilience Symposium jointly hosted by the Israeli Climate Forum, EcoPeace and EIB at Tel Aviv University.The bank said finance contracts should be finalized in the coming weeks.

The symposium brought together experts, researchers and policymakers to exchange ideas and strategies, the President’s Office said. It also highlighted the need for regional cooperation on climate issues like energy and water.

President Isaac Herzog then hosted Vigliotti, Tzantchev and Bromberg for a meeting on climate resilience and regional cooperation.

“We must join forces to confront the urgent threats posed by climate change,” Herzog said. “The European Investment Bank is a climate leader, and we share the wish to strengthen climate action in Israel and our region.”

The meetings came the day before one of the first international conferences to be held in Israel on emergency preparedness in the field of water opened in Tel Aviv. “Water Resilience & Emergency Preparedness 2023” will run through the end of the week and is being co-hosted by the Israel Export Institute, the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy, Israel’s Manufacturers’ Association and the Israel Water Authority.