The budget to support the projects is expected to be about one million shekels per year * The accelerator will operate within the framework of the Institute for Transportation Innovation at Tel Aviv University, which was established in cooperation between the Directorate of Fuel Substitutes in the Prime Minister's Office, the Porter School of Environmental Studies, and the Faculty of Engineering as part of the government's vision to reduce dependency the world in oil. The accelerator will be operated in partnership with EcoMotion, the entrepreneurship community for smart transportation
The Institute for Transportation Innovation at Tel Aviv University, which was established in collaboration with the Fuel Substitutes Directorate at the Prime Minister's Office, announces the establishment of a first accelerator of its kind intended for entrepreneurs in the fields of smart transportation and fuel substitutes with the aim of encouraging start-up companies in these fields. The budget for supporting entrepreneurs each year is expected to be about one million shekels, and it will be operated in collaboration with the EcoMotion team.
Entrepreneurs who are in the initial development stages of ideas and inventions with a promising business horizon will be selected for the accelerator in a competitive process. The selected entrepreneurs will receive a workspace in a shared space for a period of 4 months in the capsule building - the new home of the Porter School of Environmental Studies. Five ventures will participate in each round, with the first round of the accelerator expected to open in December 2014.
During their stay in the capsule building, the entrepreneurs will receive financial support worth approximately NIS 100,000 in cash, consulting services and business support from experts in the field, from the automotive, technology and business development industries. Support will come from local investors, experienced entrepreneurs, academics, local authorities and established local or international companies that will help develop the ideas. The purpose of the activity is to provide entrepreneurs in the stages of their initial activity with new tools and partnerships, with the help of which they will be able to raise initial investment immediately at the end of the process.
Prof. Danny Rabinowitz, head of the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University, who also serves as the head of the Institute for Transportation Innovation: 'The accelerator that is being established these days within the institute is supposed to give young entrepreneurs in the field of transportation who are at the beginning of their journey time and financial support in order to devote time to the development of their dream. The four to six new ones, each of whom will stay in the accelerator, will enable the development of the technical aspects alongside the promotion of the business structure of the product and the company that develops it. As far as the university is concerned, this is a unique attempt to join hands with the start-up industries in Israel, and to combine the best of the academic world with the best of the hi-tech entrepreneurship world. The combination with the Oil Substitutes Directorate in the Prime Minister's Office, together with the experience acquired by the 'Accommotion' community, which will actually be involved in cultivating the business side of the initiatives that will be selected, are an innovative and original formula. Porter School of Environmental Studies is proud to be part of such a project.
The establishment of the accelerator is an important and inseparable pillar of the Israeli government's vision, which is based on the national program for fuel substitutes headed by Eyal Rosner, which is designed to formulate solutions and develop technologies that reduce the global use of oil in transportation, strengthen knowledge-rich industries in the field and make the State of Israel a world leader in the fight against oil dependence.
Eyal Rosner, Head of the National Fuel Substitutes Program at the Prime Minister's Office: "The State of Israel has set itself the goal of becoming a center of knowledge and innovation in the field of fuel substitutes. In order to reach this goal and implement the government's vision, a dedicated accelerator for entrepreneurs in the fields of smart transportation and fuel substitutes was established, with the aim of encouraging Entrepreneurs to invest in this important area. The establishment of the accelerator is another step of the Directorate of Fuel Substitutes in building Israel's capabilities that will enable in the future global leadership in the fields of transportation innovation and alternative solutions to oil."
Participation in the project is free of charge, and does not include an obligation on the part of the project to set aside a percentage of ownership in favor of the accelerator or any other party. The financial support will be provided subject to the work plan submitted by the entrepreneurs, who will be able to use the money for purchasing equipment, services, travel, marketing expenses, setting up a website, etc.
Boaz Memo, manager of the EcoMotion community: "The accelerator is designed to try and deal with the lack of supporting infrastructure for realizing unique ideas in the field of "smart transportation" and is a direct continuation of the community's activities. As part of EcoMotion's ongoing activities, we are exposed to the gap that exists between a successful idea and the ability to translate it into a salable product or service. The lack of infrastructures that support development, a deep understanding of market needs and adequate access to funding sources, severely impairs the ability to maximize and implement the entrepreneurial innovation unique to Israel and its position as an innovation center in the field of "smart transportation". I have no doubt that infrastructure development, which will serve about 10 projects per year within the framework of the physical accelerator and dozens of projects in the virtual circle, is required in the face of the community's activity in the last two years, and will help us realize the ideas and establish them, while attracting new entrepreneurs to the field."
Any entrepreneur interested in taking part in the program will have to meet a number of clear criteria: the program is intended for entrepreneurs whose idea has the potential to have an impact on a global level and not only locally. It is intended for a project that did not raise any funding until we applied to the program (it is possible to get a special permit if the raising did not exceed half a million shekels). The idea has a real potential to raise further funding and at least one of the entrepreneurs commits to investing the most of his time in the plan.
About
The National Program for Fuel Substitutes is a national program whose goal is to reduce global dependence on oil. The goal of the program, in which 10 different government ministries are partners, is to turn Israel into a center of knowledge and industry in the field and in the process significantly increase the use of petroleum substitutes in transportation in Israel up to 60% in 2025. The program has been budgeted for a decade in the amount of NIS 1.5 billion.
The Porter School of Environmental Studies is a multi-faculty school that is a leading academic platform for research and teaching on diverse environmental issues. The school conducts graduate studies that offer unique combinations between fields of knowledge from all parts of the campus. The school's research activity responds to burning contemporary issues, and combines academic activity with active involvement in the field by integrating its graduates into industry, local authorities, government offices, and civil society organizations that promote environmental issues. The unique capsule building in which the school operates is expected to be the first in Israel to receive the highest rating of the American standard and the Israeli standard for green construction and will serve as a home for researchers in the field.
The EcoMotion community was established in order to encourage broad entrepreneurial activity in the field of smart transportation, and to position Israel as an attractive development and testing environment in the field. The purpose of the activity is to encourage the creation of new, efficient, cleaner and safer ways to move within and outside the cities. EcoMotion promotes professional workshops in Israel, exposure to new technologies, and events for entrepreneurs, students, companies and investors. This, with the aim of promoting technological solutions and developments in the developing field of smart-transportation. The community is managed by the Israel Institute for Innovation and is supported by the Directorate of Fuel Substitutes in the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Science, the Foundation and the local industry. The EcoMotion community currently has over 1,500 members from about 450 different organizations in the field - entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, industry and academia.
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Further to Noam's position: fuel substitutes are intended to continue to support the private car, whose damage to the city, the state and society cannot be overestimated. "Green" public transportation (quiet and non-polluting) should be supported, and aviation should not be invested in refueling the private vehicles, and also in a green Iztala
ridiculous.
It is ridiculous that there is a national directorate for fuel substitutes, which is looking for solutions in candles to reduce oil consumption, which is already working. There are already such solutions that not only save oil, but also reduce the load on the roads and make it possible to reduce spending on infrastructure.
These solutions are from the field of resource sharing economy, which invents several ways to share vehicles.
The problem is in regulation, and in groups that may be harmed such as taxi drivers.
The UBER company, which entered Israel not long ago, has such a solution (they will benefit from every trip), they just need to take care *by law* of uniform standards for the subject, so that any company that wants to offer a travel agency system - can do so, and people will not be bound. Their company has the most Big of hitchhikers/drivers.