US and Israel announce next round of BIRD clean energy project

BIRD Energy has announced its next funding cycle for joint US-Israel renewable energy and carbon reduction projects. Launched in 2009 by the US Department of Energy, the Israeli Ministry of Energy, and the Israel Innovation Authority as part of the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, the program offers funding of up to $1.5 million per project.

The BIRD Energy program is part of an effort by both the US and Israeli governments to address the global climate emergency and grow a clean energy and carbon-free economy. BIRD Energy invites Israeli and American companies and research institutions to contact them to discuss the program and help them find potential partners.

"The program was established with a shared goal to promote the development of sustainable renewable energy sources that will support the energy needs of countries around the world, encourage energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Limor Nakar-Vincent, Deputy Executive Director of Business Development and BIRD Energy.

Research topics within the scope of this call include solar and wind power, advanced vehicle technologies and alternative fuels, smart grid, water-energy nexus, and any other renewable energy/energy efficiency technology. Additional topics considered include scaling-up carbon-free technologies that reduce carbon emissions.

How do you become eligible for the project?

To be eligible for funding, proposals must include joint research and development cooperation between two companies or between a company and a university/research institution - one from the US and one from Israel. The proposal should demonstrate significant commercial potential and the project outcome should lead to commercialization.

The deadline for submission of the executive summary is June 29, 2023, with the deadline for full-scale proposals set for September 10, 2022. Projects will be selected for funding in November 2023.

According to Meidata, a consulting company, ninety-five Israeli and US BIRD Energy grantees raised over $927 million in financing and grants (not including IPOs) after receiving funding from BIRD Energy. This allowed them to accelerate their innovation and product development.

The BIRD Foundation has already been active in 2023, having in January approved $8.4 million in funding for nine new projects between US and Israeli companies which are developing a host of projects in various fields, including diabetes care, robotic navigation, CO2 emission calculation and cancer treatment.

Those nine projects are in addition to over 1000 projects which the BIRD Foundation has approved for funding during its 45-year history. Until today, BIRD’s total investment in joint projects is over $370 million, helping to generate direct and indirect sales of more than $10 billion.

Said Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, and co-Chair of BIRD’s Board of Governors: “We are pleased with the bilateral US and Israel support of technologically innovative projects that are tackling some of the most pressing global challenges including Climate-tech, Agritech and Health Services.”