1. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
National Water
and Energy Programs
The Israeli Experience

2. Country ID
Maps: Wikipedia
Main Cities: Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva
GDP: $199.0 Billion (2008)
Population: ~ 7.4 millions
Area: 22,000 sqkm

3. Israeli Breakthroughs –
Selected Examples
 “Netafim” was the first to introduce low volume irrigation –
impacting irrigation practices around the world
 Given Imaging – First ingestible video camera used to view
the small intestine and diagnose disorders
 Intel’s Centrino and Pentium 4 microprocessors
 M System’s Disk on Key and Disk on Chip flash memory
 GE Healthcare’s portable cardiac ultrasound system
 The Phillips Brilliance CT Scanner
 IP Telephony invented by founders of Vocal Tec
 AOL Instant Messenger ICQ
 Zip compression technology

4. Israel’s Competitive Edge –
IMD World Report 2008
Country Rank 
BUSINESS EXPENDITURE ON R&D
TOTAL EXPENDITURE ON R&D
AS A PRECENTAGE OF GDP
AVAILABILITY OF QUALIFIED
ENGINEERS
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER BETTERN
INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA
VENTURE CAPITAL AVAILABILITY
2nd
Sweden
Sweden
Israel
Israel
Hong Kong
3rd
Japan
Finland
Chile
Switzerland
Israel
4th
Korea
Japan
Taiwan
Source: IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook - 2008
1st
Israel
Israel
Singapore
Singapore
U.S.A
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS Singapore Israel
Singapore
Sweden U.S.A
U.S.A
Israel Ranks 20th in Global Competitiveness
RESILIENCE OF THE ECONOMY Australia Denmark Switzerland Israel

5. Israel’s Cultural Ecosystem
Dynamic
Culture
Informal yet
Efficient
Society
Power of
Distance
Strong
connection
between
government,
private sector,
and academia
STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center

6. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
Main problem: Lack of Water
And Energy

7. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
“Solar energy is
the largest and most
impressive
source of energy in
our world”
David Ben Gurion 1955
Israel - Government Perspective

8. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
Key Elements For The Water
Community
5 Elements :
 Clear Legal Framework
 Integrated Water Management
 Water economy
 Water Saving Society
 Technology

9. Energy Innovation
STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
15 lost years for
solar thermal
National lab setup Luz I
Solar water heaters
Luz II

10. Fields of Expertise
STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
Unique Position
Water Energy
Water
Security
Water
Management
Water
Reuse
Desalination
Irrigation
Wind
Solar
Biofuels
Energy
Efficiency

11. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
Israel NEWTech

12. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
Government Decision number 157 on 18.06.2006
Development of water technology in Israel
Israel's position as a global leader for water solutions in the water market industry depends
on the recognition of the latent potential that water technology could have on the Israeli
economy; and on the importance and centrality that government and private companies have
in this market, in Israel and in the exporting industry. It is equally important to examine the
methods and the means that different governmental offices can use to support the
development of water technology, from the R&D stage to the manufacturing and exporting
stages….
The Government Decision
Government decision for extension of the
program till 2011, 28/7/08

13. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
Increasing
R&D
Activities
Encouraging
Innovation
Strengthening
Human
Capital
Penetrating
World
Market
Key Elements of the program

14. STATE OF ISRAEL Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor | Foreign Trade Administration | Investment Promotion Center
WATEC 2009