Climate Tech

Meet the Israeli Tech That’s Tackling Climate Change

Climate Tech

October 28, 2021

From energy storage to carbon capture, more than 760 tech companies in Israel are developing solutions that address climate challenges

More than 190 world leaders are convening in Glasgow, UK, to begin the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), a two-week summit dedicated to taking action towards realizing the goals of the Paris ‎Agreement and combating global warming. As extreme weather events are increasing in frequency, and in the face of the recent ‘code red for humanity’ issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ‎climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to an urgent global priority. The Glasgow summit is expected to speed up government plans to mobilize finance for climate solutions as well as create momentum for additional net-zero carbon emission commitments by corporations across a variety of sectors. 

Decarbonize or Miss the Opportunity 

Transitioning the global economy to meet net-zero carbon emission targets requires virtually every industry vertical to change its ways – from the way we generate and consume electricity, manufacture products, grow food, get around, to the way we build, heat and cool our houses. For that reason, as Bill Gates said, “there is an enormous opportunity (and responsibility) in the hands of tech innovators.” 

While some solutions (such as renewable energies) already exist and need to be deployed faster and smarter, many more breakthroughs are needed, which presents compelling opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs. The increase in consumer demand for decarbonization on one end,  along with regulatory and reputational risks for non-compliant companies on the other end, has created a pinnacle moment. Add in the  expected government investment in climate solutions, and it becomes clear that the current atmosphere supports longer-term prospects for startup companies providing solutions in areas ranging from sustainable food production, afforestation, to recycling, energy efficiency, and smart mobility – just to name a few1.

Israeli Tech for the Climate Transition

Start-Up Nation Central has been working with Social Finance Israel to identify and map the ‎Israeli tech startups that are developing solutions to help meet the net-zero emissions targets, and to classify them according to climate challenges areas and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Our preliminary mapping screened 2,500 Israeli startups out of the 6,500 tech companies active in Israel and identified that over 760 of them are already developing solutions for addressing climate challenges. These findings are supported by the recent report issued by the Israel Innovation Authority and PLANETech which identified 637 Israeli startups and growth companies established after the year 2000 that are developing solutions to climate challenges. The following companies are some of those that we have identified as industry leaders, which are already gaining significant market traction in their space.

Agriculture & Food Security 

  • Groundwork BioAg – Mycorrhizal inoculants for crops 
  • Beehero – Beehive monitoring solution 
  • TIPA – Compostable flexible packaging; increases shelf-life of produce & reduces waste

Built Environment: energy, transportation, construction, and water ‎infrastructure

Consumption and Production: clean manufacturing, new materials, circular ‎economy, and carbon capture

  • UBQ Materials – Thermoplastic material from municipal waste (reduces waste)
  •  Kornit Digital – Sustainable Digital Printing for Apparel and Textiles
  • TripleW – Lactic acid from food waste (reduces waste)
  • Airovation – Air carbon capture (captures GHG emissions)

Biodiversity & Nature Preservation 

  • Albo – Measurement and monitoring of carbon sequestration in nature-based projects 
  • ECOncrete – Ecologically ‎active coastal infrastructures 
  • Tomorrow.io– Weather forecasting solutions 

The Climate Innovation Festival: Galvanizing the Israeli Tech Ecosystem to Tackle Climate Change

To channel Israel’s renowned entrepreneurial and innovative spirit into action, we are calling global players to join us for the Climate Innovation Festival set to take place in Israel in October 2022. 

The Festival is a global gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, researchers, scientists, policymakers, and industry experts fostering the next generation of climate-tech solutions to address the global climate crisis. The Festival consists of a  two-day innovation summit with multiple competitions, gala events, panels, and roundtable discussions with key global experts from governments, corporates, and innovators, with key ecosystem players from Israel, and guided site visits to leading tech companies in Israel and climate-related projects and prizes.

The Climate Festival will feature multiple competition tracks, which are specifically designed to accelerate climate-tech research, entrepreneurship, and market growth:

  • The Climate Solutions Prize – a one-million-dollar fund prize presented by the Jewish National Fund of Canada to incentivize and motivate the best and brightest not-for-profit researchers and organizations throughout Israel with funding to curb the climate crisis through innovative, high-impact, and executable ideas.
  • The Climate Solutions Competitions for Startups – a multi-track competition for Israeli startups, where each track is led by a different corporate partner or investor offering equity, POC/pilot opportunities or market growth assistance to the winning companies. 

The Festival is structured as a call for partnership with all ecosystem stakeholders. Join us together with our partners the Jewish National Fund of Canada, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), and the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation to incentivize and support breakthrough climate solutions. Contact Yael here for more information.

1Sustainable Investing Perspectives, UBS, 8 September 2021.

Daniela Kandel contributed to this report