MassCEC Announces Second Round of Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership Grants to Tackle Water

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton McDevitt and Avi Hasson, Chief Scientist of Israel, today announced the second round of the Massachusetts-Israel Innovation Partnership (MIIP) to fund collaborative research projects focused on innovative water technologies.
“Finding reliable and clean sources of energy and water are two of the most important environmental challenges facing the world today and forging international partnerships will help create solutions,” said Barton McDevitt. “We’re thrilled to help unite Massachusetts and Israeli companies around innovations designed to tap into sustainable supplies of both resources.”
“Water innovation has long been a national priority and has presented Israel with a tremendous opportunity to become a global leader in fields such as water treatment, water reuse, desalination and drip irrigation,” said Hasson. “We are very pleased to join forces with our long-time friends and partners in Massachusetts and continue to strengthen the water industry by fostering innovation, development and commercialization of additional export markets.”
Barton McDevitt and Hasson made the announcement at today’s W.E.T. Revolution, part of the Massachusetts Water Innovation Mission to Israel.
Application teams should include one Massachusetts company and one Israeli company, who will partner to work on a collaborative research project. Up to two teams will be selected for the grant. MassCEC will provide $250,000 and Israel will provide matching funding.
"Brainpower and innovation will be critical in addressing global and local sustainability, especially in water," said Rep. Carolyn Dykema, who is part of the Massachusetts Water Innovation Mission to Israel . “It's exciting that entrepreneurs from Massachusetts and Israel are finding solutions to these problems, and the MassCEC grant program will only speed up progress, while creating jobs and opportunity here in the Commonwealth. I'm proud that Massachusetts is leading the way with such a creative and effective program."
The MIIP, established as a direct result of Governor Patrick’s 2011 Massachusetts Innovation Economy Partnership Trade Mission to Israel, was born out of a coalition of Massachusetts and Israeli leading business executives and senior government officials interested in growth opportunities of common interest for Massachusetts’ and Israel’s innovation industries.
This second round of MIIP award funding is focused on bringing together the Massachusetts and Israel water and energy innovation clusters, two of the leading such clusters in the world, providing access to new employees, researchers, customers and commercial opportunities in the long run. The volume of water required to produce energy and the amount of energy required in the treatment of water is an important link that embodies this program. 

About the Office of the Chief Scientist and MATIMOP
The Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, empowered by the Law for the Encouragement of Industrial Research and Development, oversees all Government-sponsored support of research and development in Israeli industry. This broad spectrum support stimulates the development of innovative state-of-the-art technologies and enhances the competitive power of the industry in the high-tech global market. MATIMOP, the Israeli Industry Center for R&D acts on behalf of the OCS and facilitates international cooperation programs through various  bi- and multi-national industrial research and development agreements aiming to enhance cooperation in research and development and technological innovation between Israeli and foreign enterprises and academic research institutes.