BIRD
Foundation
Newsletter |
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Message from the Executive Director
In these challenging times of uncertainties and concerns, we at the BIRD Foundation are doing everything possible to continue our activities with minimum disruption. The June 2020 cycle is continuing as planned, the BIRD Energy 2020 Call for Proposals was just published and we are working on the BIRD HLS 2020 Call for Proposals.
Click here for the whole article.
Eitan Yudilevich, Ph.D.
Executive Director |
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New Project Approvals Announced for the BIRD Program
BIRD’s Board of Governors approved $8 million for the funding of nine new projects on December 18, 2019. Among them were projects with innovation relating to Agrotech, Cleantech, Cyber Security, Healthcare IT, Life Sciences and Quantum technology.
We wish much success to all the projects that were awarded.
Please see Press Release for companies and projects approved. |
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BIRD Celebrates Milestone - 1000 Projects
Following the December Board of Governors, BIRD held a reception at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation celebrating 1000 projects approved since 1977. The theme of the evening was “Dream Big” and notable BIRD grantees spoke about their projects and how BIRD’s support brought them invaluable benefits beyond the funding of their projects. It was also an opportunity to recognize Dr. Phillip Singerman who retired after eight years as BIRD’s Co-chair representing the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). |
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BIRD HLS Approves Three Projects in Fourth Annual Cycle |
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Israel Ministry of Public Security together with the BIRD Foundation announced the recipients of its fourth annual HLS cycle on January 12, 2020. Three projects, each consisting of a U.S. and an Israeli company, received approval for a total investment of $2.3 million. Projects selected addressed topics relating to Drones, Video Analytics and In-door Navigation.
For company names and other details see Press Release. |
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BIRD Energy Selects Nine Projects in 2019 and Announces 2020 Call for Proposals
Nine U.S.-Israel clean energy projects were selected in the 11th annual cycle of BIRD Energy, a program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Israel Ministry of Energy (MoE) together with the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). $8.2 million was awarded for projects relating to Biomass, Fuel Cells, Natural Gas, Storage, Water-Energy Nexus and Energy Efficiency. For company names and other details see List of Projects approved in 2019. |
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Companies and universities/research institutions with technologies relating to Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Natural Gas and Energy-Water technologies are now invited to apply for the 2020 BIRD Energy Program. See Call for Proposals.
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Executive Summary | June 30, 2020 Final Proposal | August 13, 2020
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A Webinar to present the program and explain the process will be held on
April 27, 2020 at 19:00 PM EST. |
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Three U.S.- Israel Energy Center Winners Awarded $27.6 million
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On March 6, 2020, three U.S.- Israel consortia in the areas of Fossil Energy, Energy Storage and Energy-Water Nexus were selected and will receive up to $27.6 million to develop and commercialize innovative energy technologies. The goal of the Energy Center is to promote energy security and economic development through the research and development of innovative energy technologies while facilitating cooperation among consortia of U.S. and Israeli companies, research institutes, and universities. The projects were evaluated and selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Israel Ministry of Energy (MoE) and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). See Press Release and additional details about Energy Center awardees.
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Razor Labs and Exacter continue development of Mobile Edge Computing Sensor for Enhanced Grid Resilience despite COVID-19 Pandemic
BIRD grantee Razor Labs of Tel Aviv, Israel and Exacter of Columbus, OH, refuse to let the Coronavirus Pandemic halt their progress and are finding creative ways to address the resilience of the electric grid in alignment with the new need to socially separate and provide green solutions.
The companies were awarded a BIRD Energy grant in 2017 to develop sensors that analyze emissions from deteriorated equipment on the grid enabling predictive maintenance and prognostic grid management. These sensors are simply mounted on any fleet vehicle and as the vehicle follows its scheduled route, the grid adjacent to the roads is analyzed and critical information is uploaded to the cloud. Powerful machine learning algorithms use the repetitive route data to evaluate grid conditions and changes and forecast resilience of the infrastructure to benefit utility operations. |
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| First Trekker Prototype Deployment |
Advanced Trekker V2 for Project Deployment |
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Voiceitt and SCJ Associates work jointly to develop an innovative speech recognition solution for people with speech disabilities
Voiceitt, of Ramat Gan, Israel, and SCJ Associates Inc., of Rochester New York, received a BIRD grant in 2017 to develop an innovative speech recognition solution for people with speech disabilities. Voiceitt is providing the voice technology software and SCJ Associates is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the wearable hardware.
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This solution is ever more relevant in times of crisis, as it is an accessible tool and protective measure that can assist the most vulnerable populations, including people with special needs and the elderly, by providing users the independence of hands-free control in their homes and facilitate-voice based interaction. For those who have lost their main support systems during periods like this, the solution reduces the frequent need for close proximity to a caregiver or nurse thereby reducing potential viral exposure.
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