If it were solely up to the indefatigable Dan brothers, Yossi and André, and their small company Challengy, Israeli technology innovation would be a big part of the French business mainstream.
As has been mentioned in previous articles, bringing corporate giants from abroad to Israel during high-risk periods such as now presents a number of difficulties for them, including insurance coverage for visits during wartime.
So in this case, the solution for Yossi Dan and Challengy was to organize a trip in the other direction, something he has done previously. After bringing a multi-domain start-up crew to the giant Vivatech show this past June, he focused this time on climate tech and sustainable cities.
Some 16 Israelis start-ups, plus a law firm and investment firm, just spent a couple of days meeting with representatives from five major French companies working in this field, in the Israeli ClimaTech Paris Summit.
Not one of the startup participants could have made the trip and obtained introductions to the French giants on its own. Here they are:
Boson Energy – large scale decarbonization of transport.
Brenmiller – thermal energy storage for decarbonization of industrial heat and power plants.
Criaterra – cement-free construction products.
eLinkAir – automatic charging devices for e-buses and e-trucks.
Elssway – accessible and seamless E-mobility charging.
Eva Greentech – transforming demolition waste into building material.
Flower Turbines – innovations in small wind.
Funpressor – refrigeration technology reducing cooling energy consumption.
GreenVibe – direct measurement of concrete strength in real time
Helios – cost effective iron ore reduction method with zero CO2 emissions.
Hydro X – disruptive technology to store and transport hydrogen.
Oasix – heat/cold pump with dual-thermal energy storage.
Revoltz – compact electric vehicle.
SolCold – nano-technoligical cooling coating solution.
StarStone – biology-based concrete solution using bacteria in fermenters.
UBQ Materials – transforming hard-to-recycle household waste into climate-positive material.
The Israeli start-ups were invited to Paris by Bouygues Construction, Colas Group and Equans (three subsidiaries of the Bouygues Group), Egis Group and Saint-Gobain, all huge French companies and major players in the fields of construction and construction materials in France and worldwide.
With the innovation focusing on urban construction, de-carbonization, energy impact and distribution, bio-based solutions and transportation, these start-ups can be a perfect fit with the French giants.
"My dream is that the pilot projects of these big groups make use of Israeli innovation technology," said Yossi Dan. "This is all very B2B in terms of the technology and investment, and there is a real interest in Israeli start-ups."
Partners included Planetech, bringing together the Israeli climate tech ecosystem; Ignite the Spark, promoting Energy-Tech in Israel; the Shibolet & Co. law firm; and the Carmel Winery. Also present was Sephora Cohen, in charge of business development at the Israeli embassy here in Paris.
It is estimated that one in five startups in Israel is in climate tech. This summit was a giant step for those present. What happens next could be anything…under a bright sun.
