The CICC has launched an exciting initiative in 2008,
extending the Chamber’s platform to the field of cleantech. The CICC employs a
competitive model very similar to the one recently used with the Israel Web
Tour and with semiconductors, software and telecom in prior years – bringing
Israeli companies to California and corporate
partners/investors to Israel.
California and Israel each have tremendous market potential. The status California enjoys as one of Israel’s largest trading partners bodes well for
partnerships between the California and Israel in the
burgeoning field of cleantech. California more than doubled its venture capital
investment in energy technology to over $1 billion and leads the US with 1/3 of all US venture investment in
cleantech.
Israeli investment in cleantech is also growing
exponentially with available capital dedicated to cleantech more than
quintupling in 2007. Eighty-six percent of Israeli venture capitalists expect
cleantech investments to increase further in 2008, more than any other
technology sector. Israeli exports of
water technology alone rose to over $1 billion. Israel and California also both
draw on complementary strengths in semiconductor technology for the benefit of
the solar industry.
The Chamber and its network of over 7,000 companies, firms,
executives and entrepreneurs are well positioned to help California companies and investors to
discover the nearly 400 Israeli cleantech ventures, providing innovations related to
renewable energy, clean water, green agriculture, pollution control, batteries
and storage, energy efficiency, and other environmental technologies.
The range of CICC’s cleantech programs, which designed to
benefit both California and Israel, foster thought leadership, investment,
entrepreneurship and networking between the Israeli and California cleantech communities.
