Emefcy raises $5m Series A financing

Emefcy, a microbial fuel cell startup based in Caesarea, Israel, has raised $5 million at a company value of more than $10 million, post-money.

UK investment fund Pond Venture Partners led the round, joined by current Emefcy investors Israel Cleantech Ventures Funds and Plan B Ventures, according to Globes and IVC Online.

Emefcy, co-founded by serial entrepreneurs Eytan Levy and Ronen Shechter, is developing the MEGAWATTER™ technology. This technology produces low cost electricity (at $0.10/kWhr) and hydrogen in a bio-electro-chemical process from wastewater treatment by leveraging Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology.

Levy and Shechter previously founded wastewater treatment company AqWise. In February 2009, this blog detailed Emefcy's efforts to raise a $3.5-$5.0 million Series A financing. That same month, Levy presented at a public event at MIT organized by the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance. Plan B Ventures is based in Boston and its principal, Barbara Goldman, is a member of the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance.

Levy told Globes, "The capital raised will help us set up a commercial pilot. We've already established laboratory pilots on increasingly larger scales. Progress to a commercial pilot is based on the successful results of the laboratory pilots."



Emefcy's Scientific Advisory Board includes Prof. Bruce Logan of Pennsylvania State University, Prof. Derek Lovely of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and Prof. Bruce Rittmann, Director of the Biodesign Institute at the University of Arizona.

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AquAgro Fund acquires Kinrot water incubator

AguAgro Fund LP has acquired water technology incubator Kinrot Technology Ventures from Canada's Stern Partners Inc. in a share-swap deal, reports Globes.

Stern Partners, run by president Ronald Stern, will reportedly get a stake in AquAgro, an Israeli venture capital fund focused on innovative water and agriculture technologies, although terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor regulations governing Israel's Technological Incubators Program require that AquAgro inject at least $3 million into Kinrot over three years.

Stern Partners ran Kinrot for the last three years following the incubator's privatization. Under the leadership of CEO Assaf Barnea, Kinrot has invested in a portfolio of 11 cleantech start-ups and entered into strategic partnership agreements with Israel's Mekorot, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the Milwaukee 7 Water Council.

B. Gaon Holdings Ltd. controls AquAgro through Gaon Agro Industries Ltd.. Gaon Holdings CEO and Gaon Agro chairman Shai Preminger told Globes, "Gaon Holdings is one of the players that, a decade ago, inscribed on its flag investment in the water and cleantech industries, through Gaon Agro. The acquisition of Kinrot turns AquAgro, which we own, into the leading Israeli investor in the water and cleantech technologies."

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Arad Technologies wins lucractive water metering deal in India

Arad Technologies, a Yokneam, Israel-based wireless water meter manufacturer, and Luxembourg-based meter maker Actaris Metering Systems were jointly awarded a deal to provide 150,000 water meters to the city of Mumbai, India according to Globes.

Citing the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute, Globes reports that the deal is part of a $128 million project to install 1.2 million water meters in Mumbai, though contracts for the remainder of the project have not been distributed. Arad and Actaris, however, are expected to win the follow-on tenders, because of logistical difficulties in coordinating different meter systems and technologies in a single municipal network.

Arad Technologies—a subsidiary of Tel-Aviv stock exchange listed water measuring technologies manufacturer the Arad Group —specializes in Web-based automatic meter reading technology for municipal water networks, and also has expertise in electric and gas meters. According to Arad Technologies, its products help to reduce operating costs, allow for more accurate measurements, and increase the lifetime of meters for its customers.

According to a report in Reuters, Arad Technologies sold more than $100 million in water meters in 2008 and is developing a fly-by system using small pilotless aircraft to collect data from water maters in real time.

Arad Technologies participated in the tender through the Export Institute and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor's Foreign Trade Administration and Israel NewTech program for promoting the water technology and renewable energy industries.

Arad Technologies president Dan Winter said, "Winning this tender is a breakthrough for us, which opens a new market that is full of opportunities. Arad is in the final stages of two other tenders in India, and in view of the heavy demand, we are considering moving some production there."

Actaris is a subsidiary of Itron (Nasdaq:ITRI), which offers products and services including metering, data collection, and software to utilities worldwide in the energy and water markets

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BGU partners with U. of Johannesburg and UCLA on water research

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has partnered with the University of Johannesburg and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to conduct scientific research into the fields of water purification and microalgal biotechnology, according to a press release last month.

"This is an international partnership that will benefit the peoples of South Africa, Israel and other countries around the world,” said BGU’s Vice President for External Affairs Prof. Amos Drory on occasion of the signing. Drory and Prof. Derek van der Merwe, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Johannesburg, signed the research collaboration agreement in South Africa.

"The two universities will become involved in extremely important, evolutionary research that will mainly benefit third world countries throughout the world,” said Dr. Bertram Lubner, Vice-Chairman of BGU’s Board of Governors and president of the SA Associates of Ben-Gurion University (SAABGU).

Prof. Sammy Boussiba and Prof. Yoram Oren from Ben Gurion University’s Blaustein Institute for Desert Research will head up the projects in Israel working together with Prof. Bhekie Mamba, leading the South African research teams. They will be assisted by Prof. Eric Hoek, an expert in the fields of water purification and microalgal biotechnology at UCLA.

According to Prof. Mamba, the two universities will brainstorm on how they can contribute to ongoing South African research into water purification in rural areas and around the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria. In addition, they will research the feasibility of harvesting algae from the Dam and converting it to energy. The Hartbeespoort Dam remediation programme is being implemented by the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to address the imbalances and unhealthy biological conditions in the dam.

"We will investigate how we can contribute and add value to this ongoing project,” said Prof. Mamba. Ongoing research into the use of membranes to purify water in rural areas will also benefit from the UJ, BGU and UCLA collaboration.

"We will look at the effective treatment of dam and river water used for drinking in rural areas,” he continued. "Here, the pollution is not industrial, but microbial. We need to address the issue of bacteria and viruses into the water, and we will be looking at what role UJ and BGU can play. "We hope to come up with a low-cost, low-maintenance solution geared for rural areas,” Prof. Mamba said.

BioPetroClean partners with Dow to market wastewater treatement technology

BioPetroClean, a Petah Tikva, Israel-based cleantech start-up specializing in biological wastewater treatment, recently announced the signing of an agreement with The Dow Chemical Company. Under a global commercial agreement, Dow will market the Dow BPC Water Treatment system to refinery and produced-water markets with exclusivity in various regions.

BioPetroClean’s Automated Chemostat Treatment (BPC-ACT) is an innovative approach to wastewater treatment, consisting of three elements: a bacteria cocktail customized for specific water types, a control unit, and a basin or tank that serves as the reactor. According to the Company, BioPetroClean's bioremediation solutions allow a wastewater treatment plant to increase its reliability and capacity while reducing cost of operations.

“The selection of the BPC solution by a worldwide leader such as Dow is a great endorsement from a company that can help us take advantage of the worldwide opportunity and enable massive deployment of our new and exciting technology,” said David Amir, CEO of BioPetroClean.

“Dow BPC Water Treatment technology has immense potential — for communities, the oil and gas industry, the environment and our business,” said Janet Giesselman, President and General Manager of Dow Oil & Gas. “We are committed to creating clean, sustainable water supplies. This is one more step toward solving this global challenge.”

Dow and BPC are working on a first field application of the Dow-BPC Water Treatment system.

BioPetroClean's investors include 21Ventures, a New York-based venture capital fund. BioPetroClean reportedly raised between $5 million and $8.5 million from 21Ventures and Quercus Trust in 2008.

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BPT Closes $12 Million in Series B Financing Led by Pitango Venture Capital and U.S. Venture Partners

Bio Pure Technology Ltd. ("BPT"), a Rehovot, Israel-based company developing chemically-stable membrane-based separation solutions for critical industrial processes, recently announced that it has completed its Series B financing, raising $12 million.

U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) and Pitango Venture Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Aurum Ventures and Elron Electronic Industries. Funds will be used for expanding manufacturing facilities, for continuing R&D and to further develop sales and marketing infrastructure to meet increased worldwide demand.

In conjunction with this round Christopher J. Rust, a partner at USVP, Jacques Benkoski, a venture partner at USVP, and Ittai Harel, a Partner at Pitango, will join the BPT board of directors.

BPT is focused on developing and commercializing advanced membranes-based separation solutions to address the needs of the water and wastewater treatment industries. BPT’s unique chemically-stable membrane technology and associated systems enable customers in the landfill, mining, chemical, biopharma and food industries to filter their aggressive waste water to be economically viable, re-use water and comply with environmental regulations. According to BPT, the Company provides solutions where other membrane-based technologies cannot withstand the aggressive waste characteristics and alternative technologies such as evaporators and incinerators are often not economically viable.

“USVP and Pitango have deep experience in building great companies; we are proud to have them as lead investors, and to have their partners join our board,” said BPT’s CEO, Nir Kinory. “Together with our existing great investors, Aurum and Elron and our dedicated team, we are on a fast track to capture the market of next generation industrial waste water streams treatment brought about by water scarcity and increased environmental pressures.”

Ittai Harel, partner at Pitango Venture Capital, added: “Cleantech is an area of growing concern to the world market. BPT’s technology and tremendously experienced R&D group are well positioned to play a significant role in the application of nanotechnology to water technology.”

“USVP has been investing in cleantech for over six years and this is our first cleantech investment in Israel. Water treatment and recycling are critical elements of adapting to climate change,” said Jacques Benkoski, Venture Partner, who led USVP’s efforts in the BPT investment, “BPT clearly stood out as a unique player with differentiated and leading technology to solve critical waste water recycling issues for key industrial processes."

BPT was founded in 2000 and is located at the Weizmann Science Park in Rehovot, Israel. BPT previously raised $2.5 million from Aurum Ventures and Elron in 2007.

Israel boasts 6 water startups, including Emefcy and AquaPure, in Artemis Project list

A list of the top water technology companies in the world, announced last week by the Artemis Project, includes six water startups based in Israel.

The Artemis Project, a California-based consultancy and research firm, sponsored the first Top 50 Water Companies Competition to identify the leading game-changing technologies that provide venture grade investment opportunities in the water sector. The companies were selected by a panel of experts based on an integrated matrix of four criteria: technology, intellectual property and know-how, team and market potential.

Israel's representatives in the Top 50 include:

#4 Emefcy: Emefcy, based in Caesarea, is the developer of the MEGAWATTER™ platform, a bio-electro-chemical process for electricity and hydrogen production using wastewater as a fuel. This technology addresses a market of industrial wastewater treatment plants in which anaerobic treatment is not applicable, thus expensive-to-operate aerobic treatment is applied. Emefcy currently runs several prototypes and plans to commence field piloting in Q3/2009. Emefcy raised a first round of financing from Israel Cleantech Ventures in 2007.

#7 AquaPure: AquaPure, based in Dalton, was founded in 2002 to provide the municipal and groundwater treatment markets with innovative and proprietary Non Thermal Plasma (NTP) technology to remove micro pollutants from contaminated drinking water. AquaPure has raised funds from Ludan Engineering and the Office of Chief Scientist. According to the company, AquaPure performed successful pilot testing in California, and scale up to a commercial beta unit test is scheduled to operate during Q1 and Q2 2009 in order to generate revenues starting Q1 2010.

#21 CheckLight: CheckLight, based in Kiryat Tivon, is developing, manufacturing and marketing cost effective, wide spectrum, automatic bioluminescencebased water quality tests for rapid screening and real-time water quality monitoring. CheckLight has raised up to $3.5 million from Whitewater Technology Group, an Israeli investment company.

#36 ProWell Technologies: ProWell Technologies, based in Tel Aviv, is the developer of "Air Shock", an innovative, non-destructive and environmentally friendly technology for water well rehabilitation, development and stimulation.

#48 Lesico CleanTech: Lesico CleanTech is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lesico-Leshman Group, and specializes in the development and marketing of technologies for the treatment of industrial brine in general and for the treatment of brine at brackish water desalination facilities in Israel in particular. Current brine removal methods create severe environmental problems, contaminate water sources and soil, and face strict regulations that ban the expanded use of these methods. Lesico CleanTech, in cooperation with Ben-Gurion University and its Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, has consequently developed technological solutions for the reduction of the volume of brine by means of accelerated evaporation and by recycling and reusing brine using electro-dialysis.

#49: BioPetroClean: BioPetroClean, based in Petah Tikva, specializes in bioremediation of industrial wastewaters. The company's Automated Chemostat Treatement (ACT) technology can be applied to a wide variety of sites, including oil refineries, terminals, drilling sites, marine ports, power stations, contaminated reservoires and storage tanks. BioPetroClean has raised $8.5 million from 21Ventures and Quercus Trust.

“The Artemis Project’s Top 50 Water Companies Competition winners have excelled in key strategic areas in the emerging advanced water technology sector,” said Laura Shenkar, Principal of The Artemis Project. “We are excited to spotlight these innovative companies for the first time on the world’s stage and congratulate them for their achievements in introducing the solutions that will reinvent the water landscape.”

"We are proud to be selected as one of the top five winners of the Artemis Project’s Top 50 Water Companies Competition" said Eytan Levy, Emefcy's co-founder and CEO. "It verifies our belief that our mission of applying a profitable, innovative new source of energy is on the right path," says Levy.

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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."

Aqwise signs cooperation agreement with Mekorot to field-test biological treatment system for drinking water

Aqwise, a Herzliya, Israel-based provider of advanced solutions for wastewater treatment, has signed a cooperation agreement with Mekorot, Israel's national water company, for field-testing an innovative technology for biological treatment of nitrate contamination in drinking water.

The agreement was signed in the framework of WaTech, Mekorot’s entrepreneurship and partnership center for water technologies.

Aqwise has recently begun developing innovative solutions for contaminants removal from drinking water. According to the company, these solutions are based on the unique technology and extensive knowledge that were achieved in the company in the field of biological treatment of wastewater, through the development and implementation of its moving-bed technology, AGAR (Attached Growth Airlift Reactor) process, utilizing biomass carriers.

Nitrate is one of the most common contaminants of groundwater in the world and originates in agricultural fertilization, cesspits and dairy farming. Tens of thousands of wells in the US and in Europe contain Nitrate concentrations that exceed permitted standards. As a result, a significant part of the wells is closed and millions of cubes of potential drinking water are not being used.

Elad Frenkel, CEO of Aqwise, commented “The company engages in constant research and development of innovative technologies for wastewater treatment and is glad to penetrate the drinking water treatment field, thus significantly expending its potential target market. Cost-effective groundwater contamination treatment has a great importance, especially nowadays, when the global water crisis becomes severe. The cooperation with 'Mekorot' is strategic for the company”.

Mekorot CEO Ido Rosilio said, "The collaboration with Aqwise will help Mekorot find an effective and environmentally friendly solution for treating contaminants in drinking water. This solution can help return tens of thousands of cubic meters of clean water to Israel's water reservoirs."

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Israeli water technology exports double in 2008

The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute reports that water technology exports totaled $1.4 billion in 2008 - double the 2005 amount. The global water market is worth $400 billion annually and is expected to rise to $537 billion next year.

To mark World Water Day, the Export Institute published figures about the country's water technologies industry. There are 250 companies in the sector of which 200 export their products. 50 companies in the sector are defined as start-ups.

These companies are involved in sectors including water management systems, safety and security for water sources, irrigation management systems, desalination, water recycling and purification.

Israel is ranked first in the world in recycling water for agriculture: 75% of sewage is recycled for agriculture.

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AqWise wins EU Eureka grant to develop wastewater treatment system

AqWise, a Herzliya, Israel-based wastewater treatment company, has won a €2 million grant from the European Union Eureka R&D program.

The funds, to be shared with AqWise's Dutch partners Agriton B.V., Westt, Aquaexplorer, and Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden, will be used to develop a combined anaerobic and aerobic reactor system for treating wastewater

AqWise will develop a dynamic anaerobic aerobic reactor ("DANA") that will allow the integration of anaerobic and aerobic processes in one vertical configuration. Under the terms of the agreement, Aqwise will develop the system and its Dutch partners will integrate it.

The system is designed to help sewage treatment companies reduce the number of treatment tanks in a wastewater treatment plant.

Details of the grant are available here on the Eureka web site.

AqWise was founded by Eytan Levy and Ronen Shechter, now the CEO and CTO, respectively, of microbial fuel cell startup Emefcy.

Aqwise's investors include Israel Cleantech Ventures, Elron Electronic Industries Ltd., and Mexico-based steel company (and AqWise customer) AHMSA.

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Emefcy signs collaboration agreements, raising Series A funds

Emefcy, a microbial fuel cell startup based in Caesarea, Israel, recently signed collaboration agreements with several potential clients. The companies will participate in Emefcy's pilot program in 2009 and will potentially have Emefcy's system installed in their plants in 2010, according to reports by the company.

Emefcy, co-founded by serial entrepreneurs Eytan Levy and Ronen Shechter, is developing the MEGAWATTER™ technology. This technology produces low cost electricity (at $0.10/kWhr) and hydrogen in a bio-electro-chemical process from wastewater treatment by leveraging Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology. Emefcy's technological breakthrough is focused on the development of electrode materials and structure that feature durability, high power output and low cost.



Levy and Shechter, who previously founded wastewater treatment company AqWise, have already received venture funding from Israel Cleantech Ventures, and Greentech Media has detailed Levy's efforts to raise $3.5-5.0m in a Series A funding round. CEO Eytan Levy plans to be on the East Coast in February and March for meetings with potential investors. On February 26th, Levy will speak at a public event at MIT organized by the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance.

Emefcy's Scientific Advisory Board includes Prof. Bruce Logan of Pennsylvania State University, Prof. Derek Lovely of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and Prof. Bruce Rittmann, Director of the Biodesign Institute at the University of Arizona.

More information about Emefcy's MEGAWATTER™ system and Emefcy's business plan is available in this online video, in this company presentation, and in past reports by the Jerusalem Post and Israel21c.

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Viola buys 23% of Amiad Filtration Systems

Viola Private Equity has purchased approximately 23% of Amiad Filtration Systems Ltd. (AIM:AFS) for $9 million.

Viola purchased the stake in Amiad from Icelandic investment firm Atorka Group hf, according to a report in Globes.

Viola partners Harel Beit-On and Osnat Ronen are expected to be named to Amiad's board of directors.

Viola Private Equity partner Osnat Ronen said, "We were impressed that the company has impressive and consistently high growth, high quality products, a wide and stable market, a solid reputation, international standing and talented management. We have been following Amiad for a long time, and turned to a long-term investment, which will lead the company to more significant growth."

Amiad Filtration Systems, controlled by Galilee-based Kibbutz Amiad, with a 53.9 percent stake, manufactures water filtration systems. The company sells its products in 70 countries worldwide. Founded in 1962, Amiad went public on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2005.

Viola Private Equity, founded in 2008, is part of the Viola Group founded by Shlomo Dovrat, Harel Beit-On, Avi Zeevi and the late Aharon Dovrat. Viola Group has over $1.8 billion under management.

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Kinrot signs cooperation agreement with California water incubator

The Kinrot Incubator recently signed a cooperation agreement with a California water technology incubator: the Claude Laval Water and Energy Technology (WET) Incubator.

WET is based on California State University's Fresno campus. Established in 2007, WET is a $5 million partnership between Fresno State, the International Center for Water Technology, and the Central Valley Business Incubator.

In an interview with Globes, Kinarot CEO Assaf Barnea described the cooperation agreement between Kinrot and WET. "The cooperation between us is on three levels: joint research, joint development based on innovative technology, and marketing water technology. The significance for us is the joint marketing of the products. The American incubator is like an industrial park, and the firms in our portfolio that want to meet other firms will find partners willing to listen there. We'll join in meeting potential investors. The water technology market is very conservative, and you have to form close ties in order to make sales."

Vancouver-based Stern Partners acquired Kinrot in 2006.

In June, Kinarot signed an agreement with the city of Los Angeles on water technology. The agreement will allow Israeli start-ups to use Los Angeles Department of Water & Power facilities for pilot projects.

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CleanIsrael Cleantech Startup Showcase

On December 15th, the CleanIsrael Network will host its first Cleantech Startup Showcase, featuring presentations by 5 Israeli startups from the energy, water, and green technology sectors.

The presenting companies are Agam Energy, Emefcy, High Check Control, Phoebus Energy, and SOVNA.

The event is sponsored by Amit, Pollak, Matalon & Co. and organized in conjunction with IDC Herzliya's new Institute for Renewable Energy Policy and Applied Research (IDC IREP), founded by Dr. Isaac Berzin.

This the first event of its kind for the CleanIsrael Network. Founded last March by the author of this blog and Gene Dolgin, an analyst at Israel Cleantech Ventures, the group grown into a network of 650+ cleantech-related entrepreneurs, investors, academic researchers, service providers, and government officials. CleanIsrael's regular networking events host speakers from industry-leading organizations such as Better Place, Cleantech Group, Israel Cleantech Ventures, and Sindicatum Carbon Capital.

More than 150 people have already registered to attend the event in Israel. For more information, and to register, click here.

There will also be a live web cast of the event to several North American groups, including the Boston Israel Cleantech Alliance, California Israel Chamber of Commerce, Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce, and the law offices of Gowlings in Toronto and Ottawa. Click here to register for the event in Boston.

Several of the participating companies should be familiar to readers of this blog and observers of Israel's cleantech industry.

Emefcy, co-founded by serial entrepreneurs Eytan Levy and Ronen Shechter, who previously founded wastewater treatment company AqWise, has already received venture funding from Israel Cleantech Ventures. Emefcy, which is developing products that produce electricity from wastewater treatment by leveraging Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology, was featured in Jerusalem Post. Greentech Media detailed Levy's efforts to raise $3.5-5.0m in a Series A funding round during the CICC Cleantech Tour of Silicon Valley last month.

Phoebus Energy, which received a first round of venture funding from Terra Venture Partners in 2007, is developing a hybrid heating unit to more efficiently produce energy for institutions such as hotels, hospitals, and factories. Phoebus, and its CEO, Yoav Ben-Yaacov, were featured in Israel21c earlier this year.

SOVNA, a startup that installs vertical micro wind turbines atop high-rise buildings, was previously called ALT-E and was featured in Ha'aretz earlier this year. Erez Ella, a noted Israeli architect whose projects include the Museum Plaza in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of Sovna's co-founders and also participated in the CICC Cleantech Tour of Silicon Valley last month.

Amiad announces rise in profits due to growing demand for clean water

Growing demand for water filtration products have boosted revenues and profits at Israel-based Amiad Filtration Systems.

Pre-tax profits rose from $3.6m to $5.4m (£3m) for the six months to June 30 as turnover increased from $27.4m to $39m, according to a statement by the company.

Amiad makes filters to remove pollutants, used by heavy and extractive industries such as mining, and by municipal water treatment plants and irrigation systems.

Rami Treger, CEO, said Amiad was benefiting from rising global demand for clean water, driven by population increases and rising prosperity, coupled with problems of supply exacerbated by climate change and pollution.

"[We] anticipated an increase in global water investment and increased sales and marketing efforts accordingly, resulting in increased trading in all main parts of the business."

Amiad's shares, listed on the London Stock Exchange, have risen more than 60 per cent over the past year.

BioPetroClean raises funds from 21Ventures

Israeli water purification company BioPetroClean has closed its latest financing round, raising $5 million from 21 Ventures LLC, according to an announcement by the company and a report in "Globes".

BioPetroClean is developing bioremediation systems for cleaning waste water contaminated by oil and other pollutants, through a process called Active Chemostate Treatment (ACT). The company was founded in 2006 by chairman Hezi Marueli, CEO David Amir, and CTO Eugene Rosenberg, a world-renowned authority in the biological treatment of oil pollution and a professor at Tel Aviv University.

According to Globes, the money will be used by BioPetroClean to set up a sales network and fund several potential BOT projects.

"During the refining process, refineries produce large quantities of water, that they have to treat rather than pumping it out as effluent. We bring the quality of the water to a level that enables them to either pump it back out into the environment or improve its quality through a further treatment process to a level that will enable it to be used for irrigation or in industry," explains BioPetroClean director of business development Yael Barash.

The company's technology is currently being tested in a pilot project at a number of key facilities in Israel and other countries, and Barash gives as examples, two projects now underway in South Africa. One is at a refinery in Durban and the other was a one-time project carried out in cooperation with global energy giants BP and Shell. "We carried out a single cleaning project for them two months ago, and we're now working on the terms of a contract with them for a larger project," adds Barash.

As to the potential financial value of the contracts, Barash notes that at small sites, meaning tanker farms for ports, a project can range from $300,000 to $800,000. A facility at oil refineries and drilling sites, which are considered large sites, will cost $1-3 million. A single service (cleaning an accrued quantity of water at a specified site) will cost around $50,000 to $250,000.

AqWise to supply technology to wastewater treatment facility in Israel

Israeli wastewater treatment company AqWise - Wise Water Technologies Ltd. will integrate its AGAR® technology into a major wastewater treatment facility to be built in the Golan Heights.

Situated near Kibbutz Meitzar, the new wastewater treatment plant is designed to serve 13 rural communities, many of them with special farming and live-stock enterprises, requiring treatment capacity for highly polluted wastewater.

According to a company press release, the AqWise solution will enable the new plant to effectively address the challenge of inflow peaks, associated with regional conditions, and allow gradual project scalability so as to adapt wastewater treatment capacities to the anticipated regional growth.

AqWise reportedly beat out other companies from Scandinavia and the United States that are developing similar biofilm process technologies to treat wastewater.

AqWise CEO Elad Frenkel said, "What is singularly important here is the fact that AqWise's technology enables the facility to be built with a certain capacity now, in response to existing needs, and then upgraded at a later stage without having to carry out further engineering work. The facility will have an initial capacity of 2,500 cubic meters of treated water a day, and this will be increased to 5,000 cubic meters of treated water a day, as required."

AqWise marketing manager Ud Shani added, "This project is important, not just technologically and environmentally, but also politically. Until now, the Jordan River was exposed to contamination through sewage, and this brought us and the Jordanians to the brink of a crisis. The new facility will solve this problem."

Following a secondary transaction in January that valued the AqWise at $10 million, Mexican mining conglomerate Altos Hornos de Mexico SA de CV, owns 55% of the company, Elron Electronic Industries Ltd. owns 34%, and Israel Cleantech Ventures owns 11%.

Last year, "The Cleantech Revolution" named AqWise as one of the top 10 companies to watch in the field of water filtration.

Related posts:

Israel Cleantech buys 11% of AqWise

AqWise founders start new cleantech venture

IDE to build $150m desalination plant in Australia

Israel-based IDE Technologies announced last week that it signed a deal to build a desalination plant worth over €100 million in Australia. IDE is a joint venture of Israel Corp.'s Israel Chemicals unit and the Delek Group.

IDE did not identify the company that it is building the desalination plant for, stating only that it is a "major industrial client." In January, Reuters reported that IDE won a tender to build a desalination plant worth more than $100 million as part of an iron-mining project in western Australia.

The 140,000 cubic meter per day facility, which will be based on reverse osmosis technology, is slated for completion in 2010.

"It establishes IDE's presence on the Australian continent, strengthens its worldwide deployment in line with the company's business strategy of global expansion and strengthens IDE's position as a world leader in the seawater desalination market," said Avshalom Felber, CEO of IDE.

The company said the project is one of the most complex in the world and one of the largest of its kind supplied by IDE to a foreign client. According to IDE, the quality of the feed water necessitates more precise and complex treatment than in similar installations elsewhere.

IDE said the Australian client will use the desalinated water for production processes and drinking water.

Established in 1965, IDE specializes in commercial applications of thermal and membrane technologies for desalinating and converting sea and brackish water for drinking and process water. The company has supplied more than 385 plants of different types and capacities in 40 countries, and said the plants produce more than 1.6 million cubic meters per day.

Related posts:

IDE to build 3 desalination plants in Asia

The growing importance of water

The most recent Sunday New York Times included two articles of interest to readers of this blog.

The first article, which does not seem to be available online, discusses Israel's water shortage and the threat that it poses to the agricultural sector. You can check out an associated NY Times video on YouTube.

The second article, "A Tall, Cool Drink of... Sewage?", analyzes the growing importance of wastewater treatment and water recycling in the United States. This trend should present economic opportunities for Israel, which is a world leader in the development of water technologies.

The new Orange County, California, Groundwater Replenishment System, illustrates how valuable the market for water technologies could be: the system cost $480 million to build and will cost $29 million a year to operate.

The linkage between water and energy is also interesting. California, as the NY Times points out, uses a staggering 20% of its energy just to move water from the rainy north to the dry southern portion of the state.

For more on the connection between energy and water innovation, take a look at this article by Bill Aulet of MIT. The Israeli government is also taking note of the connection and will devote an entire day of the upcoming Prime Minister's Conference to exploring the "Water-Energy Nexus."