The center meaningfully strengthens cooperation between the United States and Israel in the field of energy, in the present and in the future, the US Department of Energy announced.
By: United with Israel Staff
Israel and the US further broadened their collaboration when the US Department of Energy and the Israeli Energy Ministry on Monday signed the Implementation Agreement to establish the US-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering and Water Technology.
In March, the US Congress appropriated $4 million for the Department of Energy to establish the Center for joint research and development with Israel. This sum will be matched by the Israeli government and private sector partners, adding up to a target of $16 million to initiate the project.
US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz signed the agreement today at the US Chamber of Commerce.
“I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Energy of the State of Israel and the Department of Energy of the United States of America have signed an agreement establishing a new US-Israel Center of Excellence in Energy, Engineering, and Water Technology to advance energy research and energy security between our two nations,” Perry stated.
“The partnership between our two countries has long advanced the cause of freedom, dignity, and peace and, as we are highlighting today, the joint quest for science and innovation,” he added.
Rapid Deployment of Innovative Technologies
The Implementing Agreement provides the foundation for the Center’s establishment, which aims to accelerate development and more rapid deployment of innovative technologies for fossil energy, energy cybersecurity in critical infrastructure, the energy-water nexus, energy storage, and other areas needed to diversify energy supply and promote efficiency.
Further areas of collaboration include additional R&D cooperation, technology transfer best practices from academic institutions and national laboratories for application by industry in the United States and Israel, workforce training and educational programs, as well as student and postdoctoral exchanges.
The Center’s activity will be in addition to that of the Israel-US BIRD (the Binational Industrial Research and Development) energy program, which has been active since 2009.
“The Center is a meaningful strengthening of the cooperation between the United States and Israel in the field of energy and will provide the foundation for further strengthening of this relationship in the future,” the US Department of Energy stated.