It’s that time of year! Join us for the next eight days for what’s become an OurCrowd tradition: highlighting during Hanukkah — the festival of lights – the top eight Israeli tech trends that spark the interest of our investment team and what they see on the ground.

Trend #2: Green Tech

Behind the trend:

For its entire existence, Israel – out of necessity — has been a leading research hub in areas related to the environment, from water conservation and desalinization to agriculture to alternative energy sources. So much so, other countries often seek advice and innovation first from Israel: this year, in fact, California turned to Israel to learn how to deal with four years of devastating droughts.

As concerns rise about ramifications of climate change, more attention is being paid in general to clean air and water, as well as food security; all areas in which Israeli startups are developing solutions. The Israeli delegation to COP21 (the UN climate change conference held in Paris last week) was headed by no less than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Ha’aretz. Supposedly, the Israeli officials were set to present the government’s plan to invest 800 million shekels ($206 million) in renewable energy research.

What’s up next:

As awareness and concern grow about the local impacts of global environmental issues, both individuals and companies will continue to demand transparency and smarter solutions for everything from energy use management to food consumption. Combined with a growing public awareness of the personal health impacts of water and air pollution and a desire for a lower footprint life, we’ll see more residential and commercial efforts made towards green building, which is becoming more affordable with tax incentives.

One company focusing on improving energy efficiency and air quality is enVerid, an Israeli company whose award-winning HLR system eliminates a leading cause of energy waste in buildings by cleaning the inside air instead of continuously replacing it. While enVerid is saving individuals and companies money, cropX is doing the same for farmers. An ag-analytics solution, cropX has developed the world’s most advanced adaptive irrigation service, which automatically optimizes irrigation, thereby delivering dramatic crop yield increase and water and energy cost savings to farms.

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Check back with us each night of Hanukkah to learn about another tech trend sparking the Startup Nation!

To find out more about innovative technologies and investment opportunities on our platform, contact our Investor Relations team or visit our website.