DOE Announces Call for Joint US - Israel Clean Energy Technology Proposals

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with Israel's Ministry of Energy and the Israel Innovation Authority, announced $4 million in available funding for developing innovative clean energy technologies. This year's call for proposals focuses explicitly on combating climate change through innovation that scales up carbon-free technologies and reduces the climate impact of natural gas and other associated infrastructure, such as carbon capture and methods to reduce leakage in natural gas systems. Funding for the projects comes through Binational Industrial Research & Development (BIRD) Energy program, which promotes U.S.–Israel partnerships in bringing renewable and energy efficiency technologies to market.

“For over ten years the BIRD Energy program has demonstrated success in driving clean energy innovation and we are excited to expand upon this progress with a crucial focus on using technology to fight the global crisis of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The BIRD program is proof positive that the more we share resources and ideas with allies around the world, the closer we get to the clean energy solutions needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the BIRD Energy program supports research and development that benefits both the United States and Israel, with a focus on commercializing sustainable energy technologies that improve economic competitiveness, create jobs, and increase energy security.

Over the last seven years, several BIRD Energy projects have reached the commercialization stage, including an ice-battery technology for commercial air conditioning systems, a new way to optimize the energy efficiency of the food and beverage industry’s compressed air generation and improve the reliability of these air systems, and a flywheel-based energy storage technology that will be able to charge EVs in as little as 15 minutes.

From 2009 to 2021, the BIRD Energy program funded 60 projects with a total government investment of approximately $47.5 million. The BIRD Energy program has attracted more than $840 million in venture capital and other follow-on investment to commercialize clean energy technologies. BIRD Energy grantees that went public raised $149 million.

The BIRD Energy program provides maximum conditional grants of up to $1 million from at least $4 million in available funds. The deadline for executive summaries is June 30, 2022. The deadline for final proposals is August 16, 2022, and decisions will be made in November 2022.