New York launches $1 million competition to attract Israeli cleantech startups
New York State has launched a new competition aimed at attracting cleantech-focused Israeli startups to meet “the needs of New York’s utility operations and advance the state’s clean energy transformation” .
In an announcement last week, which was also available in Chinese, Italian, Arabic, Korean and Yiddish, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the New York Power Authority (NYPA) would partner with the Israel Smart Energy Association (ISEA) to launch the challenge, which comes with a $1 million prize.
ISEA is an organization that brings together local and global smart energy players in New York and Israel, with stakeholders to launch initiatives and build partnerships.
NYPA is the largest state-owned energy organization in the United States, with 16 generating facilities. The organization claims that more than 80% of the electricity it produces is clean, renewable hydroelectricity.
The Israel Smart Energy Challenge is looking for innovative companies based in Israel “to support the next generation of clean energy evolution,” according to the announcement. Startups that land the top spots will be able to work directly with NYPA to pilot their solutions to “address the specific needs of electric utility operations.”
The challenge, now in its second year, will focus on next-generation technologies such as electric vehicle charging, energy storage, energy management, data analytics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Illustrative. A charging electric vehicle. (microgene via iStock by Getty Images)
“New York and Israel have a long history of collaboration and a shared interest in developing new clean energy solutions that will help combat climate change and mutually benefit our power systems,” Hochul said in a statement. “The Smart Energy Challenge will give small start-ups the opportunity to work with a large utility and help New York State maintain its lead as an innovator as it moves aggressively toward a 100 % zero emissions by 2040.
New York State signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019, a plan that set the state on the path to its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70% renewable energy production by 2030, and at the scale of the carbon neutral economy. The state said its investments of more than $40 billion in clean energy projects such as clean transportation initiatives and reducing emissions from buildings support about 150,000 jobs.
NYPA Interim President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “New York’s utility operations will benefit from this collaboration, and the technologies we test and eventually implement could change best practices.” in the United States and Israel and demonstrate new and creative ways to provide affordable supply. , clean, reliable electricity to New Yorkers.
In December, Hochul and Israel’s Attorney General in New York, Asaf Zamir, announced that PrismaPhotonics, a Tel Aviv-based provider of smart surveillance solutions for physical infrastructure, had won the 2021 challenge for its detection system. which reports transmission line problems in real time.
Zamir said in the statement that Israel was “internationally recognized as a high-tech hub fueled by cutting-edge innovation and the ideas of Israeli entrepreneurs and businesses with positive attitudes.”
“The 2022 New York/Israel Challenge will provide resources to a promising start-up that is poised to turn a great idea into a practical solution that will benefit the energy field in New York and on a broader scale. “, added Zamir.
Israel Smart Energy Association CEO Elad Shaviv said, “As a leading player in smart energy, Israel will use its growing talents and knowledge to drive the global transition to a clean energy.
The competition will show “how a leading electric utility can drive innovation, while opening the door for companies to showcase and test their technologies to jointly develop potential solutions that will benefit the energy industry.” around the world,” Shaviv said.
Israel is home to nearly 400 cleantech startups and companies, according to the Start-Up Nation Central database.
