Climate Tech is a red hot match for the UK and Israel
A selection of Israeli Climate Tech companies were in London this week to showcase their innovations to industry figures as part of a UK Israel Business Climate First delegation
In the face of intensifying global climate challenges, the urgency to combat climate change is greater than ever. Cue climate tech – a rapidly growing sector using technology to address climate and environmental challenges and create sustainable solutions. While not a new phenomenon, climate tech has become a red-hot area. Investors are realising the pressing need for solutions, and tech entrepreneurs are doing their best to provide them. Nowhere is this more evident than in Israel, which is at the forefront of the innovation.
Ten stand-out Israeli companies have been in London this week (26-29 June) as part of a pioneering ClimateTech delegation, organised by the Bilateral Chamber of Commerce UK Israel Business, and Climate First, Israel’s leading ClimateTech accelerator founded by Nadav Steinmetz and Guy Cherni. The ClimateTech companies were welcomed at a reception at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Austin with a video address from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, before taking part in a series of meetings with venture capitalists and investors, organisations and industry figures including Lord Browne, the former CEO of BP and founder and chairman of BeyondNetZero and Managing Director of General Motors.
Among them were Criaterra Innovations, which creates low-carbon and sustainable building materials to build office and residential buildings that can be recycled and reused, and Zohar CleanTech, a revolutionary waste management solution that converts unsorted residential waste into clean energy onsite, reducing landfill and GHG emissions (more on these later).
Dor Bershadsky, executive director of UK Israel Business says: “Israel is known for being strong at developing software, but we are seeing high-calibre teams shifting their focus to take the very challenging road of deep tech and hardware to address the urgent need for Cimate Tech solutions. The UK government has shown a strong commitment to tackling climate change and transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This commitment provides a conducive environment for ClimateTech companies as it ensures stability and support for initiatives that align with the country’s climate objectives. Additionally, the UK’s financial sector boasts the funding required to back companies’ pioneering solutions to some of the world’s environmental challenges.
“In recent years, we have witnessed exponential growth in UK-based corporate investors and institutions showing increasing interest in the Israeli ecosystem.”
Major institutions such as BlackRock UK, Barclays and J.P. Morgan have launched dedicated funds for Climate Tech solutions.
Danny Kessler, Chairman of UK-Israel Business, said: “Amidst the pressing challenge of climate change, we are acknowledging that the path to a sustainable future can only be forged through global collaboration and steadfast support of entrepreneurs. As 10 leading Israeli ClimateTech companies embark on this transformative visit to London, we find solace in the profound alliance between the UK and Israel, a partnership uniquely positioned to nurture the growth of the solutions our world urgently needs.”
Nadav Steinmetz is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Climate First. He said: “Our mission at Climate First is to empower companies that can help us meet our net-zero goals. Through this UK-Israel delegation, we are furthering that mission by bridging the gap between innovative Israeli companies and the UK’s vast network of investors, policymakers and business leaders.”
Criaterra Innovations
Founded in 2015 by industrial designer and sustainability expert Adital Ela, Criaterra develops technologies to produce strong and regenerative building products. The company’s cement-free and kiln-free technology produces low-carbon, and nearly zero-energy construction solutions for many precast materials, including tiles, cladding and masonry blocks. Criaterra’s materials are used globally including in Israel, the UK, Holland and Hong Kong.
Rationale: Criaterra was founded to re-engineer the way construction materials are manufactured and introduce fully regenerative building products that embody the vision of a circular economy. It aims to address the two main challenges when it comes to decarbonisation in buildings – the embodied carbon in the materials used, and the energy consumption over the lifetime of the building. Many proposed solutions for one of these challenges can negatively impact the second, however Criaterra uses non-fired pre-cast building products developed with its BioGeo Agglomerated Stone Technology, to replace commonly used products including masonry blocks and tiles while reducing 86 per cent of the carbon footprint.
Investment: €4million has been raised in equity investment, and €2.4M in grant funding
Location: R&D center is in Holon, Israel with a registered Joint Venture registered in the Netherlands towards manufacturing and selling in Europe.
Where are the big opportunities for link-ups between the UK and Israel in the ClimateTech space?
Adital Ela, founder and CEO Criaterra Innovations says: “There is a strong synergy between Israel’s innovative ecosystem and the UK market, as a leading European economy that is committed to the green transition and has the tools to measure impactful technology. In Criaterra’s area of activity, the transition to low carbon building materials will be made possible through regulations to measure carbon impact across all materials used in a building’s lifecycle, mandatory LCAs/EPDs for obtaining a building permit and a net zero concrete/cement industry roadmap. Leadership in these domains will pave the way for other economies. Specific collaboration in practice can be in targeted research, in being first adopters of new technologies and in being partners towards finding the right economic models to incentivise green technologies.”
Why is Israel so well-positioned to innovate in this area?
Daphna Wiener, chairperson at Criaterra Innovations, says: “Israel has one of the rarest resources for innovation, which is also the most important one: human capital that is well educated and highly skilled but also innovative and can take educated risks, without fear of failure. Being able to try and fail is part of the innovation process. In Israel it is socially accepted – and even admired – so ideas can be explored and breakthroughs can be achieved. Israel is also really adept in bootstrapping and getting things done independently with minimal resources. Specifically in climate, with Israel’s economic challenges, turning this mindset to innovation in energy, water, agriculture, construction and more – is about solving some very closely felt problems.”
Zohar CleanTech
Founded in 2017 by material engineer Dr Chanan Gabay (CBDO) and mechanical engineers Uzi Segal (CTO) and Isaac Shohat (VP R&D), Zohar CleanTech aims to revolutionise waste management, with its compact, container-sized system that converts various types of waste into energy. The company’s mission is to transform the waste management landscape by offering a localised solution, eliminating the need for landfilling and long-distance transportation. By doing so, we not only achieve substantial cost savings in waste treatment but also make a significant impact on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. By adopting Zohar CleanTech system, organisations can improve their ESG ranking while actively creating a more sustainable future.
Rationale: Co-founder Isaac (Tsachi) got stuck in a traffic jam behind a waste collection truck, making him late for work. Frustrated by the increasing number of trucks on the roads and the rising amount of waste being generated daily (which worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic), he started pondering why waste needed to be transported at all. Realising that the population growth and increasing waste production would only lead to more trucks in the future, he concluded that a local waste solution was necessary. Such a solution would eliminate the need for waste collection and transportation, as well as the harmful effects of landfilling and incineration on the environment, including carbon emissions and negative impacts on water and surrounding areas.
Investment: Zohar CleanTech has secured grants from the Ministry of Energy in Israel and investments from Doral Energy group, Israel’s largest renewable energy group. Zohar CleanTech is now entering the pre-sales phase and will soon commence our fundraising stage.
Location: Ramat Gan, Israel.
Where are the big opportunities for link-ups between the UK and Israel in the ClimateTech space?
Moran Kirshner Goldberg, CEO at Zohar CleanTech, says: “There are many fields in which both countries share mutual interest, such as waste management and the circular economy. Although we see a progress year over year, still big amounts of waste in both countries are not being used as a resource yet, and specifically not used for energy production. Adopting technology-based solutions that do not require vast expenses on infrastructure changes and on education but focusing on technology can help combat climate change and reduce GHG emissions dramatically.”
Why is Israel so well-positioned to innovate in this area?
Moran Kirshner Goldberg, CEO at Zohar CleanTech, says: “I think that the long-term thinking, involving vision, responsibility, and care for the next generations, together with the huge financial concerns that the climate change is causing, combined with the great technological minds, make Israel such a great incubator for startups in the Climate Tech area. Tech minds are eager to use their best knowledge and experience to have a positive impact on our planet.”
The 10 start-ups at the delegation
Helios: Pioneering sustainable resource utilisation in space and on Earth through innovative technologies.
Hydro X: Accelerating the adoption of clean energy and combating climate change with efficient and eco-friendly hydrogen storage technology.
Criaterra Innovations: Redefining construction materials with regenerative, recyclable, and high-performance solutions.
Daika: Revolutionising materials with 100% natural wood-based products, retaining wood’s unique properties and minimising waste.
Gigaton Carbon: Harnessing the ocean’s natural processes for cost-effective and large-scale carbon capture and restoration.
Momentick: Revolutionising environmental monitoring with advanced computer vision for accurate and autonomous detection of GHG emissions, driving a cleaner and more sustainable planet.
QD-SOL: Leading the green hydrogen revolution with sunlight-based hydrogen generation, driving a sustainable, zero-carbon future.
Zohar CleanTech: Revolutionising waste management, converting unsorted residential waste into clean energy onsite, reducing landfill and GHG emissions.
Luminescent: Revolutionising clean energy generation with their efficient, emission-free liquidbased heat engine.
NakAI: Transforming vessel cleaning and inspection, contributing to a healthier ocean ecosystem with innovative techno
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