Israeli water technology in the news

What follows are links to a few recently published articles related to Israeli water companies and technologies.

Interview with AqWise CEO Elad Frenkel

AqWise last month raised $3.6 million to support its growth plans, which center on its AGAR (Attached Growth Airlift Reactor) technology and ecological water sanitation process for municipal, industrial and aquaculture wastewater treatment. In this interview, CEO Elad Frenkel discusses the global wastewater market and Aqwise's prospects.

"Stream Control" takes the pressure off water pipes

Stream Control, a graduate of the Yozmot HaEmek technological incubator, has developed a device called the Aquaguard Smart Pressure Reduction Controller, designed to ensure proper flow of water through municipal pipes, thus preventing leaks and saving both water and money.

CEO Shlomo Avitbul discusses the company in this article on Israel21c. "We just finished a major project in Jerusalem's old city, where our installations reduced leakage by 35%," Avitbul says, adding that the product is set to be deployed in a number of other cities in Israel in the coming months. The company is also working on several deals in Europe - specifically Spain, Germany, and Italy.

New technique adds magnesium to desalinated water

Technion researcher Dr. Ori Lahav has developed a new technique that cheaply introduces healthful magnesium ions to desalinated water. In a few months, a semi-industrial plant will be set up adjacent to the small desalination plant at Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael to try out the process in the field. It is expected to supply 400 to 1,000 cubic meters of mineral-enriched desalinated water per day. The new process will be presented at the upcoming conference of the Israel Water Association.

Dr. Lahav is a scientific adviser to AquaPure Technologies.

Wastewater treament co. UniqKleen raises additional funds from GES

"Globes" reports that water treatment technology company GES - Global Environmental Solutions Ltd., a subsidiary of Granite Hacarmel Investments, is set to increase its holding in UniqKleen Technologies Ltd., a start-up developing technologies for treating industrial effluent with magnets. GES will raise its stake in UniqKleen to more than 60% from 51%, at a value of several million dollars. GES VP of Marketing, Water & Wastewater and UniqKleen CEO Anat Halgoa confirmed the report but declined to comment on the size of GES's additional investment or the value at which it will be made.

UniqKleen was founded in 2002 within the framework of the Yozmot HaEmek incubator by a team of new immigrant scientists from Russia - Dr Edward Brook-Levinson, Dr. David Gurevich, and Dr. Yevgenia Dobrokhotov. They have remained shareholders in UniqKleen but GES has taken over the management of the company, which graduated from the incubator in 2006 and is located at GES's site in Akko.

GES is UniqKleen's largest investor, and it first acquired 30% of the company in January 2006 for a few hundred thousand dollars.