Water Innovation Continues Pouring Out Of Israel

The media seems to publish a never-ending stream (pun intended) of stories about Israel’s water technology industry, and recently, three stories on this topic caught my attention.

A couple weeks ago, The Economist stated:

Israel wants to become the Silicon Valley of water technology.

The article began by discussing a joint venture between Israel’s Strauss Group and China’s Haier Group to sell “…a high-tech purifier that not only filters water but also heats it to exactly the right temperature for making tea.” At nearly $700 each, this device would consume about 25% of the average annual income for an urban Chinese worker! But as the article points out, “Chinese people drink a lot of tea, and their taps emit a lot of undrinkable gunge.” Who among us wouldn’t spare any expense to expunge their gunge.

In another article also touching on water filtration, the NoCamels blog discusses an Israeli company named Kolmir that’s developed a technology using the physics of sound waves to clean water 30% less expensively than conventional methods. The upshot is that it eliminates the need to use chemicals, thus allowing water to be truly purified.

Finally, The Financial Express publishes some interesting metrics about Israel’s water industry, including:

• 2008 output equaled $1.4 Billion
• 2011 output projected to double to $2.5 Billion
• Every $1 invested in sanitation or drinking water returns $3-$4 in economic returns
• The global water market is worth $500 Billion annually is growing at 7%-8%

Israel’s share of this massive market will be one-half of one percent this year, and given the innovative advances coming out of its water tech industry, this clearly presents a massive opportunity. Perhaps even to become the world’s Silicon Valley of water technology.