Created as a result of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and designed as the energy arm of the 40-year-old BIRD Foundation, BIRD Energy has stimulated, promoted, and supported joint industrial R&D that benefits both the United States and Israel. It focuses on commercializing sustainable energy technologies that improve economic competitiveness, create jobs, and increase energy security.
Since its inception in 2009, BIRD Energy has approved 42 projects with a total investment of about $30 million, attracting more than $200 million in venture capital and other follow-on funding to commercialize clean energy technologies. Over the last seven years, four BIRD Energy projects reached the commercialization stage, including a self-powered wireless sensor for monitoring energy use in buildings, a new enzyme for the production of biodiesel, a utility-scale solar concentrated photovoltaic system employing a new active cooling module, and a new system to facilitate wind speed and power output forecasting for wind generation.
Deadlines:
BIRD Energy provides a maximum conditional grant of $1 million. Projects that qualify for BIRD Energy funding must include the following:
The maximum conditional grant is $1.5 M per project.
