A strategic collaboration to help commercialize innovative water technologies was agreed on 1 December 2010 by Kinrot Ventures, an Israeli venture capital company specializing in forming and growing water companies, and multisectoral giant GE.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony celebrating Kinrot’s new business incubator site at Kibbutz Lavi in northern Israel.
Under the agreement, GE – through its Power & Water and Global Research businesses – will provide strategic assistance to Kinrot Ventures’ portfolio of water companies, including the screening of new technologies and offering technical and market assistance. Steven Kloos, advanced technologies leader – water & process technologies for GE Power & Water, also will serve on Kinrot’s advisory board.
Kinrot’s own partner companies provide technologies ranging from ultrasonic desalination pretreatment to jellyfish repellant. Meanwhile, Kinrot will have the opportunity to assess and commercialize various GE water technologies.
Michael Idelchik, vice president of advanced technologies for GE Global Research, said, “Through Kinrot Ventures, we have access to an impressive pipeline of water technologies with strong commercial potential. What GE will be able to offer is application domain requirements and insight and, where needed, R&D support to address key technical hurdles and ultimately channel many of these great ideas to market.”
Assaf Barnea, CEO, Kinrot Ventures, called the agreement “an important milestone”.
“Our joint ventures with Israel’s national water company, Mekorot; the Milwaukee Water Council in Wisconsin; and now with GE, are creating a network of local and international connections that are so important for the development and initial installation of these new technologies and for contributing to the establishment of future water technologies for the local and global markets,” said Barnea.