Miya Water partners with Michigan on "Green Jobs for Blue Waters" initiative

Miya Water is partnering with the State of Michigan, the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, and the city of Farmington Hills to set up pilot demonstration projects to lower the amount of water lost through Michigan's aging municipal water systems.

The so-called "Green Jobs for Blue Waters" initiative was unveiled last week by Lt. Gov. John Cherry. The goal is to eventually broaden out the program and establish a Michigan training center to help create new jobs in fields like engineering, manufacturing, installation and maintenance.

"As these projects expand, we will train more Michigan workers and develop expertise that we can export nationally and globally as well," Lt. Gov. John Cherry said in unveiling the initiative.

"No question, it's a business opportunity, but we see it as a business opportunity for Michigan as well," said Booky Oren, Miya's President and CEO. "I think that when you are dealing with efficiency, you create more from existing resources."

Most water system operators make "major mistakes" in seeking to immediately replace pipes when leaks occur, he said.

"By controlling pressure, you immediately reduce the water loss amount and only after that you have a lot of data (about) what's going on, and then you begin to prioritize where you replace pipes," Oren said.

Miya, based in Tel Aviv, specializes in developing urban water-loss technology. Miya’s mission is to help the cities of the world benefit from the huge opportunity presented by water loss reduction and effective management of urban water. Miya’s offering presents a comprehensive water loss solution for municipalities, from audit of the city’s water system to full project execution and maintenance.

According to a report in the Michigan Business Review, The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provides an average of 675 million gallons of drinking water per day to nearly 4 million customers across 1,079 square miles in Southeast Michigan.

While amounts of loss vary according to location and age of the system, the department's latest estimate is that it loses an average of 9 percent of its drinking water supplies to leaks, said Pam Turner, interim director.

"This is treated water that we're losing out of the system," she said.

Miya workers will initially staff the two pilot projects, Oren said.

"No question that as soon as possible we need to find the right partners. Most of the jobs need to be by the local (companies) or even employees of the local utility," he said.

The project resulted from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's economic investment trip to Israel in November and a corresponding partnership agreement she signed with Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai.

"We have to understand that there is this nexus between water and energy," said Cherry, who leads a joint Michigan-Israel water technology working group. "This initiative is the next step in that progression to a new Michigan - alternative energy, blue water and on and on as we build the dream of a Michigan future.

"Ultimately what our goal here with this initiative is to put Michigan in the position of global leadership and expertise with water management systems."

Israel Venture Capital Jounal: "Can cleantech sail through the slump?"

The current issue of the Israel Venture Capital Journal, published by the IVC Research Center, is now available online.

Entitled "High C: Can cleantech sail through the slump?" (pdf), the issue contains a list of Israeli cleantech companies and articles by cleantech investors and entrepreneurs, government officials, and service providers:

• Sustainable development is essential for our future, by Minister of National Infrastructures, Benjamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer
• Belt tightening impacts cleantech trends, by Richard Youngman, Managing Director (Europe) of Cleantech Group
• The landscape has changed, but the opportunity persists, by Zeev Holtzman, Chairman of IVC and Giza Venture Capital
  
• Adjusting to cleantech investment, by Eytan Levy, CEO of Emefcy, and Gene Dolgin, analyst at Israel Cleantech Ventures
• The next cleantech frontier: Africa, by Daniel Schwab, Managing Director of Kayema Investments, and Miriam Schwab, CEO of Illuminea Marketing & Media
• Solar thermal energy: Israel and the Obama opportunity, by David Anthony, Managing Partner at 21Ventures
• Cleantech, Clusters, and Convergence: How investors and entrepreneurs combine to save the planet, Prof. Philip Cooke of Cardiff University
• US Government Grants: An alternative source of funds for Israeli cleantech startups, by Itai Nevo and Jonathan Shapira of Goodwin Procter LLP
  
• Cleantech calls for a different VC approach, by Rafi Gidron, Orni Petruschka, Nimrod Good and Albert Olier of Precede Technologies
• Light and harmony come mainstream, a profile of Arnold Goldman, Chairman of BrightSource Energy
• Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about cow manure, by Shlomi Ben-Arush, Marketing Manager at Global Environmental Solutions
• Early stage investing in a challenging environment, by Astorre Modena, General Partner of Terra Venture Partners
• The next opportunity in cleantech: A holistic approach to the water and energy nexus, by Booky Oren, Chairman of Miya
  
• In a downturn, aggressive communication and PR are key, by Steve Schuster, CEO of Rainier Communications
  
• Yes, Israel can take advantage of opportunities in cleantech! by Sarit Soccary Ben Yochanan, CEO of ATI Incubator
  
• Cleantech IP trends: intellectual property management from a business perspective, by Sharon Dayan, VP of Business Development at GTT Global Technology Transfer
  

U.S. Army venture fund looks to Israel for water technologies

Christopher Fountas, a General Partner at Arsenal Venture Partners, was recently in Israel to examine the potential for investment in early-stage water technology companies.

Arsenal Venture Partners is a leading venture capital firm focused on the intersection of the commercial and defense markets. AVP manages an early-stage venture capital fund (OnPoint Technologies), and a seed-stage venture fund (MILCOM Technologies). It already has an extensive cleantech portfolio and co-invests with many of the leading venture capital funds and corporate investors in the sector.

According to a report in "Globes", Fountas was invited to Israel by Dr. Orna Berry, a venture partner at Gemini Israel Funds, as well as Chairperson of the Israel Venture Association and former Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; and Assaf Barnea, CEO of the Kinrot Water Technology Incubator.

Fountas said, "We manage investments in technologies for the US Army to meet needs that arise in wartime, such as during operations in Iraq, and for the government and industrial markets. We've come to Israel with the understanding that it’s a global leader in water technologies."

Joining Fountas on his trip to Israel was Melissa Meeker, a governing board member of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWFD). According to Meeker, Florida is reviewing the establishment of a state venture capital fund for cleantech.

During their visit, Fountas and Meeker met with Mekorot - the Israel National Water Company; executives at venture capital funds including Gemini, Evergreen Venture Partners, and Israel Cleantech Ventures; and Booky Oren, President of the Arison Water Initiative.

Summarizing his visit to Israel, Fountas said, "The water technologies that generally interest us are those that are synergetic to US Army and federal government needs.... All the water sectors relevant to us for investment are found here, from water security through water treatment and management, to desalination."

Environmental technology symposium at Tel Aviv University

On April 8, 2008, The Porter School of Environmental Studies (PSES), together with Ramot, the technology transfer company of Tel Aviv University (TAU), will hold a symposium on environmental technology research being carried out at TAU.

I had an opportunity to speak with the chair of the symposium, Dr. Eli Galanti, who is the Research Coordinator at PSES. According to Dr. Galanti, "The symposium will be aimed at giving a platform to the sizable number of studies in this field that have taken place at the university in recent years, and introducing researchers to interested parties from industry, government and the financial sector."

Dr. Galanti "anticipates that the symposium will enable participants to establish contacts in order to facilitate funding opportunities and commercialization options."

The program will include three different sessions, each featuring multiple researchers from TAU and chaired by a leading Israeli cleantech investor.

The first session, "Finding Alternative Energy: From solar and wind power to biofuels and hydrogen", will be chaired by Chen Altshuler, Director of Research at Altshuler Shaham, one of the leading investment houses in Israel. It was the first investment house in the region to establish a "green mutual fund" and is a major shareholder of "Ecocycle", a holding company which owns a green incubator and invests in private and very early stage green companies.

The second session, "Identifying Environmental Stresses: Water, air and soil", will be chaired by Booky Oren, President and CEO of the Arison Water Initiative, a $100m water-focused holding company. Mr. Oren was formerly CEO of the Mekorot, the Israel National Water Company.

The third session, "Improving the Environment: Remediation, rehabilitation, and smart agriculture", will be led by Jack Levy, General Partner at Israel Cleantech Ventures.

A complete program and list of presenters, and information about how to RSVP, is available online at the PSES web site.

Arison Water Initiative completes Dorot acquisition

Arison Water Initiative today completed the acquisition of 96% of Dorot Water Technologies Ltd. for NIS 106 million, reflecting a company value of NIS 130 million, and disclosed details of the takeover, ending months of leaks to media. Kibbutz Dorot will continue to own 4% of the water valves and meters, filters, and irrigation equipment manufacturer, and its CEO, Avi Harpaz, will keep his job.

Arison Water Initiative disclosed that its business plan was approved in June 2007 and that it has been making investments in Israel and other countries since then. Former Mekorot National Water Company CEO Baruch "Booky" Oren is the CEO of the $100 million venture.

Arison Water Initiative said that Dorot Water Technologies, which was founded over 60 years ago, has been growing by 20% a year since 2002 as it established its range of valves and meters for agriculture and municipal water systems. 80% of the company's output is exported. The company has 220 employees.

Last month, Arison Water Initiative made its second investment: a $250,000 venture capital investment in StreamControl Ltd., which develops a comprehensive solution for leakage reduction by pressure management