BIRD - Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial R&D Foundation to Invest $6.3 Million in 7 New Projects

TEL AVIV, Israel, June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

During its meeting on June 12, 2018, held in Washington, DC, the Board of Governors of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation approved $6.3 million in funding for seven new projects between U.S. and Israeli companies. In addition to the grants from BIRD, the projects will access private sector funding, boosting the total value of all projects to approximately $15 million.

The BIRD Foundation promotes collaboration between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological fields for the purpose of joint product development. In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1 million for approved projects, the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.

Projects submitted to the BIRD Foundation are reviewed by evaluators appointed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and by the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Israel Ministry of Economy and Industry).

The seven projects approved by the Board of Governors are the latest additions to the 967 projects which the BIRD Foundation has approved for funding during its forty-one year history. To date, BIRD's total investment in joint projects has been approximately $350 million which has generated direct and indirect sales of over $10 billion.

The projects approved include:

• ARTsys360 (Holon, Israel) and ECSI International (Clifton, NJ) will develop a 3D-360 multi-sensor counter-UAV /Drone system.
• Correlor Data Science Intelligence (Jerusalem, Israel) and Advanced Energy (Fort Collins, CO) will develop a Connected Power (IIoT) Data System with analytic and machine learning applications geared for the semi-conductor and thin-film manufacturing markets.
• Diamond Valley (Ramat Gan, Israel) and Ion Beam Milling (Manchester, NH) will develop heat spreaders for high power applications.
• DouxMatok (Tel Aviv, Israel) and American Sugar Refining (West Palm Beach, FL) will develop improved flavor delivery for sugar reduction in food applications.
• Manam Applications (Caesarea, Israel) and AviSight (Las Vegas, NV) will develop the technology for unmanned aerial systems bridge survey and remote analysis.
• Oxitone Medical (Kfar Saba, Israel) and Cigna Corporation (Hartford, CT) will develop a digital continuous care platform.
• Pixellot (Petach Tikva, Israel) and HockeyTech (Needham, MA) will develop a next generation multi-angle, automatic remote system for ice hockey game production.

Dr. Walter Copan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology said: "After more than 40 years since inception, the BIRD Foundation has become a pillar of U.S.-Israel research and development cooperation. We are proud that on behalf of the United States, NIST provides leadership at the Foundation's Board of Governors, as well as the technical expertise required to evaluate and select projects. Moreover, there is much synergy between the BIRD Foundation and NIST's mission to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness. We will continue working closely with our Israeli counterparts for sustainable excellence and mutual benefit."

Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority and Co-Chairman of BIRD's Board of Governors said: "The U.S. is one of Israel's major partner for innovation. We are proud that our collaboration with the BIRD Foundation has seen such spectacular successes over the decades which resulted in ground-breaking technological innovations offered by both Israeli and U.S recipients of the grant. We are confident their innovative solutions in the varying fields will prove vital for the population worldwide.  We are also calling on additional companies to submit their innovations for this program and be instrumental in finding the solution that will provide cutting edge solutions to the global challenges we are all facing."

Dr. Phillip Singerman, Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and co-Chairman of BIRD's Board of Governors said: "BIRD's joint U.S.-Israel Board of Governors selects projects based on criteria of innovation, partnership quality and commercial potential. Although no sector preference is applied in the process, it is interesting to note that the selected projects reflect emerging market needs, such as advanced manufacturing, drone related technology and construction tech."

Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation, said: "The selected projects are an excellent example of how the BIRD Foundation accomplishes its mission to support joint innovation that includes U.S. and Israeli companies, both large and small, in emerging sectors that bring potential economic and social contribution."

The deadline for submission of Executive Summaries for the next BIRD cycle is September 13, 2018. Approval of projects will take place in December 2018.

Contact:
Limor Nakar-Vincent
Deputy Executive Director
of Business Development & BIRD Energy 
BIRD Foundation
[email protected]  

SOURCE The BIRD Foundation