“The Acodal water event in Colombia doubled the number of visitors this year over last year’s event, and the organizers told me they believe this is because of the participation of the large Israeli delegation,” says Netta Bar-El, Israel’s economic attaché in Colombia. Israel was chosen to be the guest country at this event which took place in August in Bogota, the 55th event. Water experts from Israel spoke at the seminar, while the Israeli booth and the representatives of the 16 companies in it met with the heads of Colombia’s water industry.

“Colombia suffers from a variety of challenges in the water arena, from infrastructure, to urban water transport, water loss and more,” continues Bar-El. “The Colombian government is investing extensively today in finding solutions to address these challenges, and Israeli companies have a lot to offer.”

Israeli companies are already working in Colombia, these include Nirosoft and Bermad, and Colombian companies recognize the Israeli water industry as a world leader in innovative solutions. Some of the Colombian companies visiting the Israeli Pavilion included Bogota’s water utility, and the Santa Marta water utility, which also invited an Israeli company for a follow-up meeting at their site to discuss cooperation on a project.

Bar-El told Israel Newtech that the industry with perhaps the most pressing need for advanced water solutions is the coal mining industry. Israel NewTech has in the past already sent a delegation of Israeli water companies to meet with the mining industry, in Chile in October of 2011. Bar-El shared that another delegation of water companies from Israel to Latin America is now being planned for the coming months, to visit Colombia and one other country in the region. It promises to be a wonderful opportunity for cooperation, for Latin American companies to access Israeli ingenuity, and for Israeli water technology companies to reach new markets and business opportunities.

The Israeli companies who attended Acodal 2012 as part of the Israeli booth included: Aqwise, BlueI, Dorot, GES, Hop Engineering, Israriego/John Deere Water, Mer Group, Miya, NaanDanJain, Nirosoft, Pexgol, Plasson, Rafael and Takadu.

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Aqwise Carriers

Israeli wastewater treatment solutions provider Aqwise today announced that it has raised $4.5 million in a financing round led by new strategic investor -Triveni Engineering & Industries, a publicly traded industrial group based in India, with a fast growing water division focused on high-end technology projects.

Aqwise increased its global activity and currently operates through local representatives and partnerships in more than 30 countries, with approximately 200 municipal and industrial installations worldwide. In India, Aqwise’s technology is implemented in a large-scale surface water purification project, treating daily over 150,000 cubic meters of water from the Yamuna River. This project alone is set to provide clean drinking water to over two million inhabitants of the city of Agra, home of the famous Taj Mahal.

Aqwise has won growing global recognition for its innovative technologies. For the fourth consecutive year, Aqwise was named as one of Deloitte’s Israeli Fast 50 Technology companies, and Deloitte’s Fast 500 Technology for the EMEA region. It also won recognition for the third consecutive year at The Guardian’s and The Cleantech Group’s “Global Cleantech 100” prestigious list.

Mr. Nikhil Sawhney, Director of Triveni Group said, “We are thrilled to join a global technological leader in the field of water and wastewater treatment. We view this investment as highly synergetic to our Water Business Group, and see immense potential for Aqwise’s cutting-edge biological processes in India, as well as in other developing markets”.

“This is a vote of confidence from a strategic investor in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for water treatment”, says Elad Frenkel, Aqwise’s CEO, “After securing this type of investment, espsecially during the current global financial atmosphere, Aqwise is well-positioned to meet its next business and technological challenges. Aqwise is committed to stay in the forefront of innovative water technologies implementation and development”.

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Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) 2012 is underway and a delegation of 13 Israeli water technology companies are in attendance. The event is one of the most important water events in South East Asia, with a large international attendance. The visiting Israeli companies are active in areas including purification, advanced filtering of water transport infrastructure, water security through biological monitoring, advanced, energy-efficient desalination solutions and more. The Israeli companies will be exhibiting at the Israeli Pavilion at SIWW 2012 which is sponsored by Israel NewTech and the Israeli Export Institute.

Shay Zarevich, the Israeli Economic Attaché in Singapore, said, “The potential for cooperation for Israeli companies in South East Asian countries like Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand is huge. These countries will need to invest very significant sums in the coming years in building and upgrading their water and wastewater infrastructures in order to meet the needs of their local populations and support their expected economic growth. Israel’s water industry has proven advantages and the Economic office in Singapore is working to bring Israeli companies into different industry projects in which Singapore and developing South-East Asian countries are active. Israel’s economic attachés from around the world – from Vietnam to Canada – worked to create quality meetings between Israeli companies and attending delegations from their home countries.

Gilad Peled, head of the water sector in the Israeli Export Institute, added “SIWW is one of the most important events of the year in the water industry and presents a great opportunity for Israeli water companies to present their capabilities in the Israeli Pavilion at the event, and to find partners in Singapore and in Asia in general…”

The Israeli companies attending SIWW2012 are: Amiad, Aqwise, A.R.I., Bermad, Desalitech, Diffusaire, Galcon, Hakohav, Hop Engineering, PML, Powercom, SIRD, WateRevive, Whitewater.

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Israeli booth at Ecwatech

Ecwatech Russia, the largest water technology event in Eastern Europe, took place in Moscow at the beginning of this month, with 700 exhibitors from around the globe and over 12,000 visitors.

The Israeli booth at the event drew some of Russia’s most prominent players in the water arena, including the management of the water authorities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the heads of Russia’s largest private water utility Rosvodokanal, and Russia’s largest water integrators and distributors. The booth was home to 14 water companies including: Amiad, Aqwise, Arad, ARI, Bermad, Blue I, Dorot, Hadas, Hakochav, Noga, Ooval, Powercom.

One of the deals clinched by Israeli companies at Ecwatech belongs to Aqwise, which develops and implements innovative wastewater solutions for the industrial and municipal markets. The agreement calls for Aqwise to implement its wastewater treatment technology in compact installations in the Russian market. Aqwise has escalated its activity in the Russian market over the past year, reaching sales of millions of NIS. Elad Frankel, Aqwise’s CEO, says that “The wastewater treatment market in Russia is growing quickly, and the regulation in this area is becoming more and more demanding, forcing municipalities and industrial plants to meet strict international standards. Aqwise’s solutions are proving themselves to be economically viable for a number of sectors and for a variety of client needs.”

Oded Distel, head of Israel NewTech, supplied additional information on the Russian water market: “Despite the fact that Russia is a nation with a lot of water, the country is dealing with complex environmental challenges in water system management and urban and industrial wastewater. Israeli companies offer a variety of solutions for the challenges facing Russian water utilities.”

Eduard Shteinbuk, Head of the Trade and Economic Mission of Israel in Russia, believes that the Russian market holds great potential for Israeli water technology companies. “The Russian water sector is going through a modernization process that includes significant involvement of government funds both on federal and on regional levels,” says Shteinbuk. “Israeli companies are able to offer relevant solutions for Russia’s needs, and this creates real opportunities for cooperation.”

Gilad Peled of the Israeli Export Institute added, “Russia is now investing a lot in upgrading their infrastructure, in water and wastewater treatment, water resource management, and I was surprised to discover that there is more and more emphasis and consumer awareness of water quality. I saw a lot of positive business activity between Russian companies and the Israeli companies which exhibited at Ecwatech.”

The Israeli booth was organized by Israel NewTech, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, Israel’s economic office in Moscow, and the Israeli Export Institute.

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The Mekorot National Water Company continues to illustrate that Israel leads the world when it comes to desalination – with work well underway on the construction of Israel’s new water conduit. The “New National Carrier” will be connected to all national desalination plants, in an ambitious plan to increase levels of water reclamation to a massive 90%.

As well as revolutionizing Israel’s water infrastructure, Mekorot is also busy expanding its international activities at record speed – its unstoppable advances in technological innovation making this possible.

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Over the past decade, during a period of global climate change, many countries – Israel included – have encountered a serious water deficit. As a solution to the problem, Israel, in particular, has relied more and more on desalination – starting something of a revolution in this area, and attracting interest from the rest of the world.

The water conductance system currently under construction by Mekorot differs markedly from its predecessor. In the past Israel used to draw water from the North (Sea of Galilee) to the South (the rest of the country). Under the new system, The New National Carrier will transfer water from the West (from coastal desalination plants) to the East, and to the North, Center, and South according to demand. The New National Carrier has already been connected to desalination plants in Ashkelon, Hadera and Palmahim, and after the plants in Soreq and Ashdod are completed – they too will be connected.

Nowhere else in the world has there been such large-scale desalination preparation. In terms of numbers, the desalination plants that will be connected to The New National Carrier are expected to provide 300 million cubes of water annually, in addition to the 301 million cubes of water currently being provided by the existing plants.

Mekorot is building the Ashdod plant in record time, a plant which will, by the end of 2013, be able to provide 100 million cubic meters of water a year to the national system. As part of its complex preparations, Mekorot is also building plants which will be responsible for storing and distributing the water, as wells as reservoir covering systems which will ensure the water’s high quality for an extended period of time.

The company will oversee The New National Carrier operations from sophisticated control rooms located in the Central and Jordan Districts, and will operate according to BAT (best available technology). This type of high level supervision will allow the company to respond in real time to the ever-changing water consumption needs by households, industry and agriculture.

According to Mekorot’s five year plan, by the end of 2013 when all desalination plants are fully operational, 75% of the population’s drinking water will originate from desalinized water. The amount of water pumped from the Sea of Galilee and Aquifers will decrease drastically, allowing Mekorot to start a much needed rehabilitation process for these natural water sources.

The national system will also serve as an excellent example to other countries interested in building large-scale desalination plants.

Jerusalem and the Arava

The five year plan also includes connecting the New National Carrier with a fifth line to Jerusalem. This is in response to the estimated increase in demand for water in the city and its environs over the next few decades. In addition, Mekorot is undertaking the rehabilitation of the southern coast’s aquifer, which has been affected by excessive salinity, and is also building and expanding its waste water plants. Doing so will increase the scale of reclaimed water for irrigation which today stands at 75% – to 90% by 2016.

In order to solve the water problem in the Arava area, Mekorot’s five year plan includes building six new desalination plants which will provide households in the area with drinking water. These plants will increase the amount of water here by eight million cubic meters of water annually. The plants will be built near populated settlements: Sapir, Tzofar, Hatzebah, Ein-Yahav, Idan and Neot Hakikar.

In addition, for areas where water shortages are predicted have been identified, including Lod, Cochav Yair, Mey Shapirim Lanegev, and the Ein Boqeq area – the company intends to invest in water resource development – thus fulfilling all future water requirements.

Under the five year plan, Mekorot is looking at a 6 billion NIS (about $1.5 billion) investment between 2012 and 2016. The company also has immense potential to export business abroad – similar plants can be constructed anywhere in the world, with no shortage of countries ready to benefit from their water management solutions.

Exporter of Innovation and Knowledge

It comes as no surprise that Mekorot is rapidly expanding its activities outside of Israel, via its subsidiary company, Mekorot Development and Initiatives Ltd. In Limassol and Larnaca (Cyprus) for example, Mekorot intends to provide 50% of all drinking water, at an accumulated scope of 100 thousand cubic meters of desalinated water annually by 2013. The company is also involved in a tendering process in countries including Africa, Latin America, India and Eastern Europe.

In order to compete with large global water entities and win tenders, Mekorot puts extensive effort into research and utilizes innovative technologies in all activities. The Water Technologies Entrepreneurship Center (WaTech) was set up by the company in 2004 in order to identify innovative water technologies and help to bring them to the international market.

According to WaTech Director, Yossi Yaacobi, the WaTech “incubator” has listed a number of successes of its companies in the past year, including:

• Aqwise completed a successful experiment involving the elimination of nitrates at one of Mekorot’s plants. As a result they received a conditioned approval from the Israel Health Ministry to export their technology.
• Genaphora developed a kit which can automatically discover water parasites, a kit which is now at the validation stage with the EPA.
• Rotec-Water developed a technology, which improves the relative reclamation of salt water from 75% to 85%. After a successful pilot, the technology is approaching implementation in one of Mekorot’s plants.
• Desalitech, a promising start up backed by AquAgro, a cleantech venture capital fund, is in the midst of signing an agreement for experimentation in innovative desalination technologies. This will take place at Mekorot plants, on behalf of General Motors.

It’s also worth mentioning that WaTech has submitted requests for four licensed patents in the past year, and is looking forward to a bright future. “We plan to deepen our research capabilities and the amount of money invested.” says Yaacobi, adding “Our vision is to become a leading entity that encompasses academy, industry, and theoretical and practical research. We are determined to raise venture capital with international businesses, in order to provide an adequate solution to companies after their incubation period, allowing exceptional innovations to reach the market with full financial backup – we want be these companies’ anchor in their most critical stage.”

In order to operate desalination plants and water transfer on such a large scale, new technologies are needed, technologies which will make processes more efficient and lower overall costs. In other words, in order for Mekorot to operate large-scale plants and expand its activities internationally, the company must always be on the lookout for the most successful innovations, and that is key in maintaining its leadership status.

This type of approach is actively encouraged by Israel NewTech, of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, which focuses on implementing technological innovations within the local market, as part of an overall goal of promoting innovative Israeli solutions around the world. WaTech is an important platform for implementation of promising technologies in the water arena in Israel. Additional such programs include one which implements innovative technologies in municipal water utilities, together with the Israeli Water Authority.

Mekorot – Company Information

• Year of Establishment: 1937
• Area of Activity: Israel’s national water company
• Subsidiaries and areas of activity:
• EMS Mekorot Projects – electromechanical construction firm active in the fields of waste water, desalination and water reservoirs.
• Mekorot Development & Enterprise – initiator and promoter of water projects in Israel and abroad.
• CEO – Shimon Ben Hamo
• Chairman of the Board – Alex Wiznitzer
• Employees – 2,200 (including subsidiaries)
• International Activity: Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Asia, Africa and Oceania (islands of the central and southern Pacific Ocean) and South America.
• Finance:
• Annual Revenue: NIS 4.3 billion
• Equity: NIS 5.3 billion
• Consolidated Balance: NIS 13.4 billion
• Credit Rating: AAA credit rating from S&P for 9 consecutive years
• Five Year Plan till 2016: a 6 billion NIS (about $1.5 billion) investment

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India’s Minister of Urban Planning Kamal Nath just completed a visit to Israel (February 12-14) during which an agreement was signed between the two nations aimed at fostering cooperation, with a focus on urban water.

Oded Distel, Head of Israel NewTech, reflected on the significance of the agreement, “In India there is a great need for extensive solutions in a variety of fields – from desalination to wastewater treatment, from water efficiency to water creation. Israel’s innovative water industry is able to offer solutions to many of these needs. The agreement that was signed will open the door for more in depth cooperation, including joint pilot projects and more.”

India is undergoing a dramatic urbanization process, which both increases dramatically the need for water solutions, and also means there are more resources available to bring in much needed solutions to India’s vast water needs. The Indian Minister’s visit included a presentation he gave at a seminar, on “India’s Urbanization and Infrastructure Challenges and Opportunities”, which was jointly organized by the Embassy of India in Israel, the Israeli Export Institute and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. In his presentation, Minister Nath outlinedIndia’s vision in arenas including transportation, communication and more. But clearly water solutions and infrastructure are perhaps the most pressing needs of India’s growing cities. Minister Nath talked about the successful water projects Israeli companies already saw through in India, by companies including IDE (desalination), Amiad and Aqwise. However this is just the tip of the iceberg, as many more projects, and more extensive ones, are needed in order to meetIndia’s pressing needs. Clearly the business opportunity for Israeli companies is great.

Minister Nath’s visit comes at a time of ever strengthening cooperation between Israel and India. A free trade agreement is in the works, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Minister Nath’s visit came at the invitation of Israel’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Shalom Simhon. The agreement was signed between Deputy Minister of Urban Planning D. Diptivilas and Boaz Hirsch, Deputy Director ofIsrael’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.

Israel’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour Shalom Simhon and India’s Minister of Urban Planning Kamal Nath

For an article on the visit and agreement in Waste Management World click here

For an article on the visit and agreement in India Water Review click here

For the article on the Indian Embassy website click here

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Aqwise Biomass Carriers

Aqwise began as a small start-up offering innovative biological treatment of urban wastewater, and today offers a variety of solutions for municipal and industrial customers, due to intensive R&D and expansion into new arenas of activity.  With 150 installations around the world and activity in more then 20 countries, it appears Aqwise’s road to the top is wide open.

Aqwise ID

• Areas of activity:  Water and wastewater treatment for municipal and industrial markets (paper, food and drink, pharm, petrochemicals)
• Founded: 2000
• Ownership:  Mexican Ahmsa Corporation, an international integrator in metal mining - 55%, Elron - 34%, Israel Cleantech - 11%
• CEO: Elad Frenkel
• Geographical penetration: more than 20 countries in Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia,USA, and Central and South America
• Employees: 50 employees in Israel (headquarters and R&D center in Herzliya) and the world (sales and engineering support for projects and existing installations)

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Aqwise is considered one of the first companies which singled out Cleantech as the new Israeli sphere in the successful Israeli hi-tech arena. The Company began as a small start-up, which developed innovative technology for the biological treatment of wastewater. Now, 12 years later, the Company is profitable, has 150 installations around the world, and representation and partnerships in over 20 countries. Its activity today is more varied in terms of areas of activity, and is taking place all over the world: in China, India, Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, U.S.A., Central and South America, with offices and subsidiaries in Mexico, Italy and The Netherlands, in addition to Israel.

Today Aqwise’s technology is implemented in a wide variety of applications for municipal and industrial markets, and are geared both to the efficient planning of new wastewater treatment facilities and to the upgrading of existing facilities. According to CEO Elad Frenkel, upgrading an existing facility with the Company’s technologies requires fairly minimal investment, and creates significant increases in capacity and/or improved water quality at the end of the process, for the customer. “The upgrades we’ve conducted on existing facilities improved their treatment abilities significantly, meaning they generated greater output of treated wastewater and/or better quality water, which is in great demand today, as regulation in this field is becoming more and more strict,” says Frenkel.

The Company continues to invest in R&D.  One example of this is Aqwise Biomass CarriersAqana BV, a subsidiary in The Netherlands, which was born out of a cooperation between Aqwise and a Dutch Water technologies BV (for more on this cooperation click here), which is presenting a unique solution for the combined anaerobic and aerobic treatment of highly polluted industrial wastewater. Aerobic treatment is based on the insertion of oxygen in the wastewater treatment process, whereas anaerobic treatment is done without the use of oxygen.  Both processes are biological, meaning they are based on the activity of bacteria which is fed on the pollutants in the water, but the difference is that aerobic treatment is much more wasteful of energy and so there is an advantage to using  anaerobic treatment in certain applications, which makes the process more cost-effective.

Clean Water for the Taj Mahal 

In the framework of Aqwise’s expansion into related fields, based on its core technology, the Company today provides a wide variety of solutions for drinking water.  Recently the Company has become active in the area of water well purification, and it is the first Israeli company to receive the Israeli Health Ministry’s approval to biologically treat drinking water, following a field pilot with Mekorot (Israel’s national water utility). The Company’s technology enables efficient treatment of nitrates, one of the most common pollutants of water wells around the world.  Nitrates emanate from different sources including agricultural fertilizers, cesspools and dairy farms, and international regulation on nitrates is becoming more and more strict.

Aqwise claims that biological treatment (via bacteria) of nitrates has an advantage over existing technologies, mostly in cost-efficiency and logistical management of the facility that is required in other types of treatment. Additionally, Aqwise customers are spared the need to remove or treat the brine generated from nitrate removal in other common forms of treatment.

“We have identified the large potential in the field of biological drinking water treatment,” concludes Frenkel, “Moreover, we recently won a huge project in India which deals with purification of river water.” In the framework of this project 150,000 cubes of water will be purified daily from the Yamuna River, and more than 2 million inhabitants of the nearby city of Agra (the city in which the Taj Mahal is located) will be provided with clean drinking water.” And with its first steps firmly entrenched in India and China, the future for Aqwise looks very bright indeed.

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