CleanTech
Missions
For over 15 years, OIACI has conducted professional development missions from Ohio to Israel. The purpose of these missions is to expose Ohio professionals, legislatures, and business owners to innovative practices and technologies coming out of Israel, a world leader in CleanTech. We organize these professional development missions around international conferences, tradeshows, and exhibitions, which gives participants the added opportunity to network with professionals in their field from around the world. Further enriching the experience is exclusive site tours of Israeli CleanTech facilities which we secure through our connections in Israel. These tours give the participants the opportunity to see technologies and practices first-hand, and speak one-on-one with the people who create and operate these systems.
A recent CleanTech professional development mission was built around the WATEC Israel 2017 Conference & Exhibition in Tel Aviv. This international event showcases the latest in Israeli CleanTech — with a particular emphasis on water and waste water management — and gives participants the chance to attend lectures on developing technologies and network with peers from around the globe. OIACI supplemented the experience with exclusive site tours for participants in the mission, which included visits to water treatment and desalination facilities.
To learn about upcoming professional development missions, please see our Events Calendar.
Lectures & Tradeshows
OIACI staff assists local conferences, tradeshows, and workshops with contacting Israeli speakers to give presentations at their events. For example, OIACI recently arranged for Moshe Harel, CEO of Israel’s BlueGreen Water Technologies, Ltd., to speak at the Ohio Aquaculture Association Annual Conference and Tradeshow. There, he met with stakeholders in the aquaculture and water sectors and presented the company’s proprietary technology which is based on a buoyant and slow-releasing formulation of already-registered water disinfectants to target harmful, toxin-producing, blue-green algae in combating harmful algae blooms.
In addition to securing speakers for events, OIACI staff members attend CleanTech conferences and tradeshows in order to stay up to date on Ohio CleanTech needs and promote Israeli solutions.
Examples of such events include:
- The Renewable Energy Workshops in OH
- The US Algal Toxin Conference in Akron, OH
- Cleveland Water Alliance Hack-a-Thon in Cleveland, OH
If you are interested in contacting and Israeli expert or OIACI staff member to lecture about new Israeli water management technologies and practices at your event, please contact us.
Ohio Needs
The state of Ohio faces growing threats to its drinking water supply and other natural resources. These threats include algal blooms and other contaminants that are introduced to the water cycle through:
- Agricultural runoff
- Urban runoff
- Septic tank failure
- Legal and illegal dumping of toxic sediment and other pollutants
The effects of these pollutants range from disruptions of tourism to dangerous contamination of drinking water. For a more detailed description of Ohio’s resource management challenges, please see our comprehensive report.
While earnest efforts have been made to reduce contamination, the threats have only grown in severity. This is highlighted by yet another year of record-breaking algal growth in Lake Erie. Ohio is dealing with a 21st century problem largely without using the greatest problem-solving device of the 21st century: international collaboration. Israel in particular is a desirable international partner in working on issues of water and wastewater management. Known for major advances in many CleanTech fields, Israel is advanced in water management and already collaborates with countries all over the world to tackle their unique difficulties in this area.
Israeli Technologies
Now considered a world leader in CleanTech, Israel works with countries around the world to tackle their needs in areas such as water management — most recently making multi-million dollar deals with India and China. So how did a small country in the middle of the desert become the go-to for water management solutions? In short, necessity.
For decades Israel has had to invest heavily in water management R&D to make the best use of the few natural resources it has. This spurred a rapid technological advancement that is meeting Israel’s needs to a point which allows Israeli developers to broaden their scope to a global scale. The result is a continuous stream of technologies and management practices coming out of Israel and helping people living in a variety of climates and conditions. OIACI works with Israeli companies working in water management areas relevant to Ohio, such as:
- Prevention of algal blooms
- Management of algal blooms
- Reduction of agricultural runoff
- Septic tank alternatives
- Data sharing and monitoring of contaminates
We also work with Ohio entities such as the EPA and DNR to continually monitor Ohio needs and the potential efficacy of Israeli solutions.