Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
Israel: The Ingenuity Society as Global Laboratory
Milken InstituteYosef Abramowitz, Mark Kahn, Andrew Neff, Amir Peleg, Eyal Rosner, Eugene Kandel, Steven Yeager, Amir Shachar, Yossi Levitini, Jason, Gerhard Hoffstaedter
- Israel aims to function as a "global lab" and "beta site" to identify needs, develop solutions, and test them locally before scaling globally, supported by a strategic outlook where the country becomes the primary supplier of critical technologies for food, water, and energy security.
- A ten-year "Alternative Fuel Initiative" led by Eyal Rosner targets 60% alternative fuel usage in the local transportation sector by 2025, utilizing a funnel from basic research to pilots that may require 30 to 40 fuel stations.
- Yossi Levitini's team expects to achieve financial closure this year for a commercial solar field in Rwanda intended to serve 100 million orphans, with plans to replicate this model across Africa through 25-year power purchase agreements offering electricity at half current costs.
- Following a two-year global study of 75 markets, the same team intends to deploy an additional $1 billion in solar infrastructure beyond the initial $300 million, leveraging U.S. OPIC financing that extends an 80 percent loan for projects in developing nations.
- Omnivore Partners, a $60 million venture fund, plans to launch an agricultural research station in India within a couple of years to address global food security and facilitate master's degrees for Indian students in Israel.
- The U.S. government has extended an 80 percent loan via OPIC to facilitate financing for solar fields, while some investors rely on government guarantees to replace assets damaged by missiles and purchase business interruption insurance.
- Israel's water sector reuses 85 percent of water for agriculture, presenting a significant opportunity given that only 2 percent of global cleantech venture capital currently targets the water sector.
- The Israeli venture capital industry ranks third globally, with pension funds projected to generate an additional trillion shekels by 2020, supporting a national goal to position Israel as a world financial center.
- Strategic shifts are expected as 230 multinational R&D centers operate in Israel, including 100 of the 500 S&P 500 companies, with the New York Times noting that 100 out of 500 S&P 500 companies have large R&D centers in Israel.
- The "Takadu" company addresses water network losses of 25 to 30 percent, while Eyal Rosner notes the "Alternative Fuel Initiative" invites international participation from bodies like the DOE and State Department.
- Long-term government commitment in the form of funds and managerial attention is required to support the "global lab" concept and the 10-year alternative fuel plan.
- Risks in developing markets are mitigated through insurance for business interruptions and government asset replacement guarantees, alongside humanitarian-oriented risks in locations like Haiti where standard businesses avoid entry.
- Specific regional initiatives include harvesting Jatropha seeds in Ghana for European aviation biofuel, exporting caviar to Russia and the United States, and agronomists traveling to eastern India to solve agricultural problems.