WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette participated in the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) High Level Roundtable highlighting the importance of energy cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the United States’ continued support in these efforts.

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum has been very successful in bringing together government and industry across the region to work cooperatively in harnessing the full potential of Eastern Mediterranean natural gas and boosting regional energy security. Secretary Brouillette noted the immense benefits this natural gas will bring not only to the region, but to growing markets around the world. U.S. industry looks forward to working with the Eastern Mediterranean public and private sector to pursue these opportunities.

Following the EMGF roundtable discussion, Secretary Brouillette and Israel’s Minister of Energy Dr. Yuval Steinitz announced three winners to receive up to $27.6 million under the U.S.-Israel Energy Center competitive funding opportunity. On behalf of DOE, Israel’s Ministry of Energy, and Israel Innovation Authority, they awarded the funds to three consortia comprised of U.S. and Israeli organizations. These consortia will undertake five years of research, development, and commercialization of innovative energy technologies in the fossil energy, energy storage, and energy-water nexus sectors. The total value of these three projects with cost-shared arrangements could reach $55.2 million. Each project will be negotiated with the partners under conditions set forth by the BIRD Foundation, and subject to appropriations.

“The U.S.-Israel Energy Center is a premier hub for innovative energy research, and sends a strong signal of the long-standing special relationship between the U.S. and Israel,” said Secretary Brouillette. “From our collaboration through the Energy Center, we expect to see market-moving technologies that will strengthen our energy security and strengthen our economies. We look forward to continue fostering deep institutional relationships through this groundbreaking initiative.”

“I am proud of the collaboration we have established with the U.S. Department of Energy, of which the U.S.-Israel Energy Center is an important part. It is a day of pride in partnership and technological excellence, as evidenced by the many proposals we have received for research and development in the core areas of the energy world,” said Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Israeli Minister of Energy. “The success of the call for proposals is a result of more than a year and a half of intensive efforts by many, and I am confident that the winning consortia will form an impressive Energy Center of excellence that will lead to discoveries that are essential for a clean and sustainable world.”
 

“Promoting innovation in energy technologies is a mutual objective of Israel and the U.S. These winning collaborations bring significant value for the development of the energy industries in both countries as well as the promotion of additional sectors through effective energy management,” said Aharon Aharon, CEO, Israel Innovation Authority. “The consortia that have been awarded present promising technological innovations that address important energy challenges in both countries and worldwide.”

Three awards were made, one for each of three research topics, as described below. All three selected groups include academic institutions, industry and research laboratories

Fossil Energy

Consortium Leads: Tulane University (U.S.) and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel).
Program Title: Safe, sustainable, and resilient development of offshore reservoirs and natural gas upgrading through innovative science and technology: Gulf of Mexico - Mediterranean (GoMed Consortium).

U.S. Partners: Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana, and Argonne National Laboratory.

Israeli Partners: Technion Research & Development Foundation (TRDF), the University of Haifa, the Geological Survey of Israel, Ramot at Tel-Aviv University Ltd, and Delek Drilling LP.

Energy Storage

Consortium Leads: University of Maryland, College Park (U.S.) and Bar-Ilan University (Israel).
Program Title: Lithium and sodium metal solid state batteries for advanced energy storage applications.

U.S. Partners: Saft America and Forge Nano.

Israeli Partners: Tel Aviv University, Materials Zone, and 3DBattery.

Energy-Water Nexus

Consortium Leads: Northwestern University (U.S.) and Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Israel).
Program Title: Israel-US Collaborative Water-Energy Research Center (Israel-US CoWERC).

U.S. Partners: Argonne National Laboratory, Yale University, DuPont Water Solutions, Evoqua Water Technologies LLC, CycloPure, Inc. and Current Innovation NFP.

Israeli Partners: Technion Research and Development Foundation (TRDF), Mekorot, Fluence Corporation and the Galilee Society.

The call for proposals also included the Energy-Cyber sector, but no winners were selected in this topic area. The U.S. and Israeli governments, with support from the BIRD Foundation, will redefine the scope of the Energy-Cyber topic to better address each country’s research priorities, and will re-issue a call for proposals on this topic in coming months.

For more information about the U.S.-Israel Energy Center, managed by the BIRD Foundation, please click HERE.

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