Strategic thinking that began in the 1990s and massive investment in technology have made Israel a world power in the field of water desalination, purification and management. It is also one of the few countries in the world that has reached full independence in the water sector and is no longer dependent on rainfall. Now it helps other countries in assimilating the advanced capabilities, including various Arab countries – where they are often surprised to find that the Israelis are very different from the image created for them in the Middle East.
Israel is currently in first place in the world in wastewater treatment, and is the only country in the world that has managed to reduce its desert area in the last 50 years.
For decades, Israeli companies have been continuously developing innovative solutions, designed to solve the local and global water problem, by purifying water, managing water resources, smart irrigation and more. The same companies supply water for drinking and agriculture to dozens of countries and millions of inhabitants around the world every day. Judging by the rate of development, it seems that Israeli water technologies will reach many more points around the globe in the coming years. We all hope that thanks to Israeli innovation and technology, the horror scenario of the predicted global water crisis will be avoided in the next decade, when billions will be without water and the world’s water reserves will simply run out.
Thanks to this challenge, Israel is a world leader in the field of water technologies. Every year, Israeli companies help many countries with innovative water solutions, when the export volume of the industry amounts to billions of shekels, and is constantly increasing.
Here are some developments born and developed in Israel:
Drinking water from the air:
The most futuristic development on the list probably belongs to the Water-gen company, which developed a global patent for producing drinking water from the air, at a production rate of more than 20 liters of water per day. This is through the condensation of the little moisture in the air into liquid water (similar to the process we all know from the home air conditioner). Water-gen’s machine is able to produce from the air enough clear drinking water for a whole day for a hospital, and some machines can provide daily water consumption for a village or even an entire city. This is a kind of mini water bar, in the Nes Pech Hashemin version. Among other things, the company has already provided drinking water to thousands of residents in Houston and Miami, who were left without water after hurricanes hit these cities.
Photography: Yuval Chen
Irrigation drippers – water more with less water
Already in the 1960s, they began to work in Israel with the drip method and later – Israel’s irrigation drippers, changed the form of domestic and agricultural irrigation in the entire world.
Their goal was one – to water more with less water. Using the dripper, measured drops of water are delivered directly to the roots of the plant and thus no water is wasted on the surrounding soil. Using the drippers you can save water and get the most out of the crops. The person who invented the drippers was Simcha Blass, who founded the Netafim factory together with Kibbutz Hatzerim, and began producing the first drippers called the Blass dripper. Later he turned to a fancy Rafi engineer, who improved the drippers. Thanks to drippers, Israel has become a world power in the field of irrigation and irrigation products.
drink from the sea
The development of the “Gal Mobile” company is a sophisticated desalination system installed on 4×4 vehicles capable of reaching remote areas, and providing desalinated drinking water to more than 22 thousand people a day.
In 2016, the small island nation of Papua New Guinea was hit by the “El Niño” phenomenon. As a result, about two million of the country’s citizens suffered from water shortages and crop destruction. Against the background of the severe humanitarian crisis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to respond to the personal request of its Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to receive a portable water desalination system from Israel. The system donated by Israel, of the “Gal Mobile” type, provides drinking water to the population in Safar areas with accessibility difficulties and makes it easier to deal with the consequences of the drought.
Air conditioner for greenhouses:
Another technology, which will cause a revolution, is in the field of greenhouses in agriculture. It’s a technology called DRYGAIR, which controls the temperature and humidity inside the greenhouse at a cost of 10% of the systems that exist today. Also, a byproduct of this system is that it produces water. It also reduces the diseases that exist in the greenhouse and it is also possible to extend the growing period due to the control of the weather so that more crops are produced from each acre of land.
With the help of this system, today it is possible to grow in areas of the world where it was impossible to grow before. The system also increases the growth option and the economic potential and is already sold worldwide.
The solar boiler
Already in the mid-1950s, Israel brought to the world the idea of solar boilers – using the sun’s heat to supply hot water to homes. The solar water heater uses green and renewable energy to provide hot water in most seasons of the year.
The solar heater has become a huge success and a must-have product in every home.
water technology
Phosphorus process –
A method invented by Alexander Zarhin for desalination of sea water.
Desalination of sea water using reverse osmosis –
by Prof. Sidney Love and Israeli companies.
Systems for producing clean drinking water from the air and polluted water –
while using low energy sources. Aryeh Kochavi, Water Gen Company.[39]
A tiny sensor for testing water quality –
The keychain-sized sensor checks if the water is potable by testing the electric field around the water. “Drinking” company. Founded by Dr. Alan Bauer and Nathaniel Reisch in 2015.
Seawater desalination.
There are five seawater desalination facilities operating in Israel, including the desalination facility in Shork, which is considered the largest of its kind in the world. These facilities provide sea water and brackish groundwater that has undergone a desalination and purification process and reaches the national water system of excellent quality and is also used for drinking. Those facilities operate using the *reverse osmosis method, similar to one of the stages of water purification in home water bar facilities.
manage water in cities
The Israeli Blue Eye has developed technology to make the municipal water network smart, through continuous real-time monitoring of water quality. Blue Eye’s technology makes it possible to detect up to eight different water quality parameters. This is accompanied by management software and analytical software that weighs statistical data, which teaches about the “fingerprint” of the water, and identifies any deviation from the norm.
Water straits electricity:
Another smart development comes from the Hydrospin company, which produced a tiny generator, which enables a continuous and efficient connection to water control systems. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the water flowing in the water network into electrical energy, which is used as an energy source for various water monitoring applications.
Utilis locates leaks and saves billions of liters of water
46 billion liters of water per day are lost worldwide due to outdated pipes and poor maintenance. Over 20 percent of the water that is treated for drinking in Europe and the USA is lost in the distribution systems.
The Israeli startup Utilis uses a breakthrough technology that involves processing microwave signals from satellites to detect water leaks for governments and water corporations around the world. The company was founded in 2013 by Lauren Guy who developed an algorithm that allows the use of radars located on the surface of satellites, in order to locate suspicious points of water leakage, sewage, drainage faults and accumulation of water in the ground.
This technology is implemented in more than 400 projects worldwide, spanning more than 55 countries including the USA, Italy, UK, Chile, China and South Africa.
A method for separating hydrogen from water –
Dr. Avraham Kogan from the Weizmann Institute of Science, developed a system that uses solar energy in combination with a thermal filter, which makes it possible to separate the hydrogen from the water.
