Cutting-edge ventures develop with American partnerships

By Dr. David Novick, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference is usually known for news-breaking political speeches by top American and Israeli leaders, and this year’s conference in Washington, D.C. March 4-6 was no exception. But a new feature this year was demonstrations of cutting-edge technologies developed by American and Israeli companies in partnership.

Power for electric cars
Developing next-generation energy technologies is a national security issue for both the United States and Israel. Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place, a company with U.S. and Israeli investors, estimates that by 2016, 50 percent of cars sold in Israel will be electric, and by 2020, Israel will be energy independent.

While Israel does not manufacture cars, Better Place will provide the technology to make electric cars competitive economically with gasoline-powered vehicles. The concept is based on the ability of the electrical grid to accept power from diverse fuels (coal, nuclear, solar, etc.) so that the supply of electricity is not controlled by a cartel. If the monopoly of gasoline for powering motor vehicles can be broken, costs will come down significantly.

Better Place hopes to be the “oil company of the 21st century,” according to Michael Granoff, who spoke at the conference. Its business plan is to provide batteries and charging infrastructure on a subscription basis. Customers will purchase driving distances similar to how mobile telephone customers purchase minutes. Also, the price of the electric vehicle may be subsidized by the transportation contract, reducing upfront costs.

There will be thousands of charge stations in Israel and charge devices will be provided for the home or workplace. In addition, there will be a nationwide network of battery-switching stations to provide for longer-distance driving. These swap stations, developed from technology used by the Israeli Air Force to load and unload munitions from its F16 fighters, will replace depleted batteries robotically, in a process that resembles driving through a car wash, as quickly as it now takes to fill a car with gas.

The Renault Fluence Z.E. is being manufactured to work with this system, and there are about 10,000 pre-orders for this vehicle in Israel. It is likely that the Fluence will be the most popular car in Israel by 2013. The Better Place infrastructure is also being installed in Denmark, Hawaii, and parts of California.

Implicit in this technology are benefits for security, by reducing the economic and political power of OPEC, and for the environment. Ground-level emissions will decrease significantly as this system becomes more widespread. Even if the electrical grid were 100 percent coal-powered, the environmental impact is reduced with this system if one adds the effects of refining oil to make gasoline to those of driving gasoline-powered cars.

Protection against IEDs
The Maxx Pro Armored Personnel Carrier was developed in a partnership between Plasan, an Israeli company, and the American-owned Navistar. This vehicle has significantly reduced American casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan by protecting against IEDs, also known as roadside bombs. It can go on or off road and is highly suited for battlefield personnel recovery. Most are manufactured in Mississippi, Texas, and Vermont, providing needed jobs.

Water technology
Water is becoming as valuable as oil in the Middle East. Israel has been a leader in water-saving technologies for decades. IDE Technologies, an Israeli company, is an industry leader in advanced desalination systems. Their reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plants produce high-quality processed water from seawater or brackish ground water.

Large-scale RO plants in Ashkelon and Hadera are among the world’s largest, most cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly.

Other processes pioneered by IDE include desalination plants that use waste heat from adjoining industrial or power plants to produce water. Their technologies can also be used for mine cooling, thermal energy storage, and snow-making.

Emergency bandages
It is estimated that 90 percent of American battlefield deaths are from uncontrolled bleeding. An Israeli company, First Care, has developed a life-saving emergency bandage which provides 30 pounds of pressure to a discrete area without compromising the remainder of the circulation. The bandage stops bleeding immediately and also reduces the risk of infection.

This bandage is now carried in the first-aid kits of U.S. Army soldiers. It has also been used by first responders to various emergencies, including the Tuscon, Ariz. shooting of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January 2011.

Common interests
The U.S. and Israel have common values and interests which foster joint ventures between governments and private companies. It is in the national interest of both nations to continue partnering to develop new energy and green technology.

More than 150 Ohioans lobbied our two U.S. senators at the AIPAC conference. I was a Dayton delegate along with Alan Hagerty of Centerville, University of Cincinnati student body president Tina Kasimer, and attorney Gary Greenberg. We had an excellent meeting with our congressman, Mike Turner. We hope for a larger Dayton delegation at next year’s policy conference in Washington, March 3-5, 2013. Information is available at www.aipac.org.