Israel Looks to Export Water Tech to World’s Mines

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor’s Foreign Trade Administration has a new plan to double Israel’s water technologies exports, by 2012, from the $1.5 billion in exports in 2010. The new plan targets coal, copper and gold mines in South Africa, Brazil, Chile, and Australia.The Ministry of Industry’s commercial attaches have begun seeking business opportunities for integrating Israeli water technologies in the mining industry. Israel NewTech director Oded Distel told “Globes”, “The nature of mining combined with growing water shortages and growing public awareness of the need to purify wastewater has made Israeli technologies, considered leaders in the field, relevant. It would be a terrible waste if we miss the momentum to integrate Israeli technologies in this niche.”

Distel added, “The government has decided in principle to expand the international activity of Israeli cleantech companies and fulfilling their business potential in the global market. We decided to focus our efforts on the mining industry because Israeli companies have something to offer them.”

Israeli irrigation equipment makers, water desalination companies, companies developing energy saving technologies for desalination, and developers of sewage treatment technologies are participating in the program. They include desalination plants operator IDE Technologies Ltd., Amiad Filtration Systems Ltd., Whitewater Technology Group, water quality monitoring systems developer Blue I Water Technologies Ltd., and Mapal Green Energy Ltd.

16 Israeli water technology companies recently visited South Africa, after previously visiting mines in Australia, Brazil, and Chile. When the potential in these countries is met, the second circle of countries includes Canada and China. Distel said that these visits yielded talks between Israeli cleantech and engineering companies and mining corporations.