Message from the Executive Director |
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| Esteemed BIRD Community,
It's been a year since our last newsletter – a very eventful and challenging year for Israel, the region, and the world. The events of October 7th and their aftermath have had a profound impact on the region as well as on the high-tech ecosystem in Israel.Click here for the whole article.Jaron Lotan
Executive Director |
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BIRD Announces Upcoming Call for Proposals |
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Companies in the U.S. and Israel are invited to apply for the second general BIRD funding cycle of 2024. Executive Summary deadline is September 5, 2024, full scale proposal deadline is October 13, 2024 and projects will be approved in mid-December. See Call for Proposals. |
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Six New Projects Approved in July 2024 |
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On July 2, 2024, BIRD’s Board of Governors approved $6.55 million for the funding of six new projects in BIRD’s first bi-annual general funding cycle of 2024. Among them were projects with innovation in the areas of Environment, Electro-optics, Healthcare IT, and Quantum Computing. See Press Release for names of companies and titles of projects approved. |
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Busy Year for BIRD Energy Program
The last year has proved to be a busy one for BIRD Energy. On December 31. 2023, nine new projects were announced, the 2024 BIRD Energy Call for Proposals was published, and proposals will be submitted in early September.
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On December 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Israel Ministry of Energy, together with the Israel Innovation Authority, and the BIRD Foundation announced the recipients of the sixteenth annual BIRD Energy cycle. Nine projects, each consisting of a U.S. and an Israeli company, or a company and a university/research institute received approval for a total investment of $9.75 million.
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Projects selected addressed topics relating to agrivoltaics, battery technology, CO2 reduction, energy efficiency, solar energy, and energy storage. See Press Release for names of recipients and projects approved. |
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U.S.- Israel Energy Center is Shaping Local Innovation |
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The U.S.-Israel Energy Center (EC) is making significant strides in shaping the local Israeli innovation ecosystem. The BIRD Foundation recently had the privilege of accompanying a distinguished delegation representing both Israel and the U.S. to witness its impact firsthand.
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The delegation included key stakeholders from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Israel Innovation Authority, Israel Ministry of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy. The delegation visited the EC Energy Storage consortium at Bar Ilan University followed by Mekorot's Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Plant to see the work of the Energy Water Nexus consortium. Read more about the delegation’s visit to each of these sites. Click here for the full article. |
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The Energy Center (EC), managed by BIRD, is a pioneering initiative funded and overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy, Israel’s Ministry of Energy, and Israel Innovation Authority. By connecting academia and industry in both countries, the EC transforms cutting-edge research into market-ready energy solutions. |
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BIRD to be featured at Quantum World Congress 2024, September 9-11, along with recent and past grantees.
Speakers representing BIRD will discuss the challenges and promise of collaborations in quantum computing and the funding mechanism that supports innovation between U.S. and Israeli companies at Quantum World Congress in Tysons, Virginia, September 9-11.
Despite its potential, quantum computing has yet to provide tangible advantages over classical computing in either commercial or scientific applications. Experts agree that quantum solutions will eventually surpass classical alternatives for specific scientific and commercial problems, but the technology still needs to achieve this at scale.
BIRD has seen a rise in cooperation within the quantum computing and communications sectors, evidenced by recent funded projects. For example, Qubitekk (CA, US) and Raicol Crystals (Israel) received funding to develop a compact, efficient entangled photon light source with a narrow spectral output for quantum computing applications. The project leveraged the unique capabilities of Raicol Crystals to characterize and develop the appropriate crystal. A project funded between QuEra Computing (MA, US) and Quantum Machines (Israel) is creating a scalable platform for light modulation for optically addressed qubits used in various quantum processor units (QPUs). This platform will enable QPU builders to scale gate pulse delivery to thousands of qubits, increasing computational power. In June 2024, Blue Qubit (CA, US) and Quantum Art (IL) began their collaboration to optimize new quantum machine learning algorithms tailored to the unique configuration of Quantum Art's quantum processor. This partnership could accelerate the use of quantum computers in machine learning applications. Click here for the full article.
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BIRD Foundation Welcomes Anat Ben Yosef
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In December, 2023, BIRD welcomed Anat Ben Yosef as the new Director of Business Development to the Southern U.S.
Anat comes to BIRD after a decade as the Israeli Consul Diplomat for Tourism Affairs to the U.S. Western region as well as several years working in key positions for Israeli startups and serving as a business and media consultant in Austin, TX where she currently resides.
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Anat holds an M.B.A. in Business Management, Marketing and Advertisement from Ono Academic College and a B.A. in Communications and Political Science from Tel Aviv University.
With her energetic personality and experience in marketing, branding and communications, Anat is already contributing by creating new outreach opportunities in the Southern U.S. and introducing BIRD into new technology ecosystems throughout the Southern Region. |
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Upcoming Webinar: U.S.-Israel Collaborations in the Space Technology Sector: Innovations and Opportunities |
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Encouraging and supporting collaborations in the space technology sector between the U.S. and Israel. The webinar will also provide a matchmaking platform for companies.
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BIRD Cyber: Boosting Critical Infrastructure Resilience |
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Salvador Technologies and Bastazo, BIRD Cyber grantees, conduct live demonstration of their joint solution
BIRD Cyber grantees, Salvador Technologies and Bastazo, were selected to develop a joint cyber-attack recovery solution for critical infrastructure resiliency. As part of their project, the companies met last week at the ICS Cybersecurity National Lab (ICNL) in Be’er Sheva, Israel, to test and demonstrate their joint solution. The team introduced the platform’s unique value to Operational Technology cybersecurity: malware elimination, safe patching process, and a swift and safe recovery from any cyber incident, offering an end-to-end solution to secure critical assets.
The successful attack and recovery simulation was presented to representatives from BIRD, Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD), and the lab’s directors.
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Standing from left to right: First row – Tal Kelem, BIRD Cyber lead, BIRD Foundation; Danel Kanfi, SE, Salvador Technologies; Mauricio Iglesias, CEO, Bastazo; Kylie McClanahan, CTO, Bastazo; Second row - Yuly Thipis, Operation Manager, ICNL; Alex Yevtushenko, CEO, Salvador Technologies; Oleg Vusiker, CTO, Salvador Technologies; Tamir Goren, Strategic Programs, INCD; Philip Huff, Chief Scientist, Bastazo; Haim Litvak, Director of Systems & Projects, INCD; Miroslav Holipsky, Testing & System, ICNL. |
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BIRD Cyber, launched a year ago, is the newest of BIRD’s vertical programs. The program is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS S&T), the Israel National Cyber Directorate, and the BIRD Foundation. The objective of BIRD Cyber is to enhance the cyber resilience of vulnerable critical infrastructure in both countries.
Three projects, including Salvador Technologies and Bastazo, are receiving funding as part of the BIRD Cyber Program. The other two include Rescana (Tel-Aviv, Israel) and Trend Micro (Irving, Texas) who are working to develop an operational cyber threat intelligence capability to inform cyber risk maritime decision-making; and Pentera Security (Petah Tikva, Israel) and South Jersey Transportation Authority (Hammonton, NJ) who are working to develop and implement an airport cyber protection solution across the entire attack surface. |
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