2013 Briefing Book - Print Version - Aipac

RELATIONSHIP
oil through the deployment of a nationwide network of battery-switch stations servicing electric
vehicles, chose Israel to be the first market in which to deploy its model, and today counts 40
battery replacement stations along Israeli roads. By partnering with car manufacturers and battery
suppliers, Better Place offers subscribers access to lower car and battery prices, reducing oil’s
stranglehold on the nation’s economy and environment. Recognizing the possibilities of such an
innovation, U.S. policymakers from California and Hawaii are developing plans to implement the
project in their regions, while others have expressed a similar interest.
DRIVING TO CREATE ENERGY
An Israeli company has recently announced that it found a way to capitalize on the pressure that is
created by the weight of cars on the road in order to produce electricity. The company’s aim is to
generate commercial quantities of electricity that would help power streetlights, reducing costs and
increasing efficiency. The project was developed by scientists at Innowattech, a start-up partially
owned by Israel’s Technion Institute and private investors. The pilot project will begin on a short
section of road in northern Israel, in conjunction with Israel’s Department of Public Works.
BUILDING SOLAR ENERGY PARKS
In the Ivanpah section of California’s Mojave Desert, BrightSource Energy is constructing the
world’s largest solar thermal energy project using technology developed at its Israel plant. Expected
to come online as early as 2013, Ivanpah will be capable of producing enough electricity to power
140,000 homes.
BrightSource’s Solar Energy Development Center is based in Israel’s Negev Desert, where it
successfully tested its “heliostat” technology.
DEVELOPING NATURAL RESOURCES
The discovery of large natural gas fields in Israel’s territorial waters presents an exciting
opportunity for the United States and Israel to add new dimensions to their long-standing strategic
partnership. U.S. companies such as Houston-based Noble Energy have partnered with Israeli
companies in the development of offshore fields, and high-level trade delegations are helping to
connect new companies with new opportunities that will strengthen both the United States and
Israel—economically and geopolitically.
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