Conference Presentation, Panel
The California-Israel Innovation Project (audio only)
Milken InstituteJerry Brown, Benjamin Netanyahu, Glenn, Tom Soto, David Nahai, Shlomo Labet, Yariv Cohen, Nathan, Martha Amram, Jagdeep Basher, Lee Wallach, Eric Green, Sean Landris, Gil Galanos, Yair
- The program is projected to extend by at least thirty minutes beyond its scheduled hour to accommodate a think tank format addressing future challenges.
- Strategic initiatives aim to deepen innovation ties between California and Israel, positioning both regions as major global hubs while the speaker anticipates defining the area as the "Eastern Mediterranean."
- Eight fellows are currently deployed across Israeli government bodies including the National Economic Council, Ministry of Economy, and Security Authority to drive innovation breakthroughs.
- Export potentials and downstream chemical industries utilizing methanol or feedstock are expected to emerge from gas finds in the Eastern Mediterranean.
- A panel is scheduled to address the challenge of feeding a global population ranging between seven and ten billion people by 2050.
- Development efforts include high-yield, non-GMO seed technologies for wheat and initiatives to commercialize a $200 million biomolecular foundry.
- The Institute's operational plans involve reporting on a sovereign wealth fund based on gas revenues, a 10-year financing facility for water exports to China, and a $100 billion waste treatment facility.
- Training for over 30 fellows is expected to have occurred over the last 18 months, with an impact investing workshop involving approximately $3 billion in philanthropies.
- A credit enhancement fund for nonprofits is anticipated to be formed through Yulia Etan, targeting the financing of 600 to 800 billion dollars in US and UK under-management assets.
- An array around a youth village for orphans in Rwanda is being built by Chaim Motsen to close the circle for the Life Sciences Fund.
- Efforts are underway to reinvent the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange due to current low liquidity and to prepare a briefing on transboundary rivers for the Quartet and Cary team.
- A report released over the summer identified 400,000 people facing homelessness, addressing a problem that existed two years prior.
- A historic agreement was discussed by the Governor and Prime Minister in Mountain View in March, with a formal government-to-government platform having operated for approximately two years.
- Legislators are expected to return within two to three weeks after the budgeting process to staff an Israel-Los Angeles task force.
- Significant infrastructure projects include the Western Hemisphere's largest desalination plant in San Diego by IDE, the world's largest solar project (BrightSource) in California, and Netafim's US headquarters.
- A motion is being discussed by the City of Los Angeles to create a task force on water and the environment, with expectations that the city will serve as a model for MOU implementation.
- Climate change is projected to normalize drought conditions, with usable groundwater storage capacity estimated at 5 million acre-feet but significantly limited by perchloric and Cold War-era contamination.
- Technological options are being explored to mitigate water waste, specifically targeting evaporative rates and leakage detection in antiquated infrastructure where 90% of Los Angeles water is imported.
- Market access solutions are being built to help Israeli companies target SMEs in India, supported by the Israel-India Impact Innovation Fund with anchor investors from both governments.
- A business model aims to achieve 100% clean energy access in Rwanda by deploying one million distributed generation units via partnership with the government and USAID.
- Sixty existing partnerships between UC campuses and Israeli institutions are to be capitalized to commercialize technologies, moving away from venture capital mismatches in project-based financing.
- California is expected to become a shared solar state within 18 months, potentially increasing the solar market size five-fold.
- The regulatory framework, including a 33% renewable portfolio standard, is cited as necessary for facilities like Ivanpah, with future focus shifting to storage and distributed generation.
- Long-term institutions such as sovereign wealth funds and pension funds are identified as appropriate vehicles for energy innovations, contrasting with VC limitations of $50 million per company.
- A $1.2 billion innovation fund involving Alberta, Abu Dhabi, and New Zealand has already deployed half a billion dollars by cherry-picking from Silicon Valley VC sources.
- A "Manhattan project" approach is proposed to address global stability challenges in water, energy, and health.
- A data center is expected to be established with Clalit Health Services in the beginning of the next year to utilize 50 years of fully integrated health data covering 52% of Israel's population.
- Social impact bonds are being utilized to fight malaria in Africa and manage type 2 diabetes, with a specific rate of 11% for diabetics or pre-diabetics noted in Ramallah.
- A renewable energy project in Rwanda is expected to be on-grid within three months, representing about 8% of the country's generation capacity via a 25-year power purchase agreement.
- Approximately 250 people are currently working on Rwanda projects, while 50,000 people are working on projects in India.
- MBA students from UCSD, Berkeley, and UCLA are expected to be deployed into Israel to create jobs and facilitate company expansion to the US.
- The organization expects to manage 50 to 100 projects a year within the next one to two years, with teams dedicated for a year.
- Job creation is emphasized as a fundamental business component in California, particularly regarding LADWP economic development value.
- A leak detection system for LADWP infrastructure is proposed as a low-hanging fruit success story, led by Lee Wallach, with a software-based recurring revenue model.
- Revenue generation is noted as difficult due to the lack of pricing on water and carbon, prompting a plan to regroup into working groups to implement ideas.
- A joint event in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles is planned to attract social purpose startup entrepreneurs.