Israel ranked #5 on “The top 10 cleantech countries of 2009”

“Israel, the 'Silicon Valley' of water technology, is fast becoming the cleantech incubator to the world (see Israel to export $2.5B in water technologies by 2011). Israel recycles 75 percent of its wastewater, invented drip irrigation, and is home to the world's largest reverse osmosis desalination plant (see Israel plans largest desal plant in $513M deal). Israel certainly isn't the world's biggest cleantech market, but it might just be one of the world's most important centers of cleantech innovation and R&D, with innovative companies such as CellEra, Aqwise, and Emefcy. Better Place is also making Israel the first test-market for a nationwide electric vehicle recharge network (see Electric cars are coming to Israel). Leading Israeli VCs include Israel Cleantech, Aqua Argo Fund and Terra Ventures.”

Read about full ranking at http://cleantech.com/news/5127/top-10-cleantech-countries-2009

Electric vehicle strategy

Today’s article in the NY Times about electric vehicles (Toyota, Hybrid Innovator, Holds Back in Race to Go Electric) pulled me out of my summer vacation mode and inspired me to share my insights about the electric vehicle race to market.

When in college I was a big fan of “Game Theory” (According to Wikipedia: “Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, in which an individual's success in making choices depends on the choices of others”).

During that time I also became an admirer of Toyota, their “just in time” inventory process and their ability to bring quality to market in a fast and efficient way impressed me as I was becoming an MS in Manufacturing Systems Engineering.

And here we are today, they lead the market of Hybrid vehicles. Their Prius is the flagship of alternative fuel cars (although it’s not much of a change from gas powered cars).

But, wait a minute! Are you telling me that since 1997 when the first Prius was launched to the market Toyota has been unable to improve on their original product by making a plug-in hybrid or a full electric vehicle???? WHY?

Could this be a case of Game Theory being played out?

Mitsubishi is launching an electric vehicle (the i-MiEV). The city of Berlin is setting a goal of a million electric vehicles by the year 2020. Tesla is starting to show signs of success with their all electric vehicle product line. The famous Project Better Place intends to reshape the vehicle market with their battery swapping and city-wide recharging stations.

So why is Toyota letting their leadership slip away?

Scenario A: most of these electric vehicle companies will build their products around the first generation of batteries. A new generation of more efficient batteries will be developed and Toyota will leap over their competitors to take the lead again

Scenario B: Toyota is miscalculating the power of the electric vehicle market and will be left behind with an obsolete plug-in Hybrid Prius

Which scenario do you think will prevail?

Comments from “Things that make sense”:

First of al I want to add another thing that does NOT make sense (and I forgot to mention). Allowing people to drive while talking on the cell phone. It is inconceivable that some states like Florida are still  allowing drivers to talk while they drive, even though it has been proven more dangerous than drinking and driving.

“I'm confused at your stand on plug-in hybrids. Are you for or against? I agree that the standard hybrid gets 100% of its energy from fossil fuel. I consider that, however, its biggest short-coming. Perhaps because I just spent the last 40 years in the electric utility industry, I'm partial to using electricity as a transfer fuel. It can be generated cleanly and renewably (although it often is not). It can be shipped across the country and directly to the consumer without a lot of loss and with no additional fuel. And, can be used cleanly and with no pollution or byproducts at its ending destination.
I'm also confused (although not by you) at the hybrid vehicle concept. Large railroad diesel locomotives get 100% of their motive power from batteries which are constantly recharged by the big diesel engine running a generator. The diesel has no direct connection to the wheels. Is this less efficient than the auto hybrid that connects the small gasoline engine both to the wheels and to the generator and uses the electric motor only to boost acceleration? “

“all good points, of course. (perfectly designed waterless/odorless/attractive toilets have been around for decades). the bottled water thing is criminal and non-sustainable. 99.8% of all "information/news" in print, online, & TV & radio comes from 6 worldwide media companies whose board members interlock with boards of all, or most other corporations. all "news", is corporate news. all "making sense" is corporate centered. “

“You are so right ...it is really frustrating”

“I had the same feeling commissioning one of my project this year, but after 16 years in engineering design, I know that common sense(knowledge) is not common practice”

“Sami,
I posted my idea on your link but for those that may not venture to a great story you have told, here it is:
Dryer Sheets - They are thrown away by the thousands every day and I have found them to be a really good cleaning tool. They have just enough grit to take crud off of mirrors, doors, walls, jewelry, CHROME, and I am sure a myriad of other things”

“Interesting article. For the toilet perspective, dual flush toilets have done their bit towards minimizing the amount of water that is used for flushing purposes. More emphasis should be made on their use (if not to say imposing an eco-tax on those not having a dual flush system) and retrofitting existing cisterns with water bags or something which reduced flushed volumes.
The argument related to bottled water can also be extended to the impact of soft drinks which are canned or bottled in plastic. What is the energy that is recovered from these packaging. Interestingly in Malta we had a law which obliged soft drinks to be bottled in reusable glass bottles. Ironically with Malta's accession to the EU this law had to be removed as it was perceived as a barrier to trade”

Until next time: SHALOM!

Things that make sense

Sometimes I look at certain things that, to me, obviously don’t make sense. The solution is so obvious that I get frustrated just thinking about it!

Case in point when I see a motorcycle rider without a helmet! (although this example is not Greentech related, I wanted to include it to illustrate the point). Why would any government that punishes suicide attempts and that has such a bitter discussion about a 3 week fetus being an individual, allow these people to roam around 70 MPH without any headgear? Same issue with cyclists, who foolishly think they look faster by avoiding the helmet.

Another example is using over ONE FULL GALLON of perfect tap water to wash down a man’s or a woman’s single “serving” of pee (a typical adult initiates bladder reflex contraction with 0.1 Gallon of urine). How hard can it be to mandate a water container that stores rain water and upon availability is used to flush toilets? or simply to create a toilet that does not require water for urine (and does for “other” uses)?

A third case for general non-rationalization is allowing plastic bottles for drinking water, or even worse allowing “imported bottled water”. With the world water situation as it is (very bad, if you have not heard!) why would no one step up and prohibit companies from shipping bottled water from halfway around the globe just to create a “premium” market. Even worse, why don’t we wake up and recognize that plastic bottles are killing our environment and start using another material for our water containers (how hard can that be?).

“In the U.S., more than 30 billion
plastic water bottles end up as garbage or litter
each year”

When the cost of plastic became more attractive than glass all  bottling companies jumped into the new technology! With a little cooperation between government and industry a big difference can be achieved. Here is a NY Times article related to this issue (An Environmental Group’s Campaign of Wry Lies Against Bottled Water)

My forth and final example of “obvious irrationality” is the case for plug-in-hybrids. Here, I admit, there may be other factors unknown to me. But, as far as I can tell, the step from transforming a regular hybrid car into a plug-in hybrid is very straightforward. Granted, the battery pack in a plug-in may be a bit bigger (and heavier). But, the biggest difference is that energy will come from an OUTSIDE SOURCE into the car, as opposed to the minimal optimization achieved by regular hybrids (where energy is recuperated from the gasoline engine in two forms: directly and through the inertia of the car while breaking). Some smaller companies offer kits to transform regular hybrids into plug-ins. Why can’t big car companies do this transformation from the inception of the car???

Makes no sense!!… Do you agree, disagree or do you have any other examples of things that make no sense??

Here are some comments from Do you have the drive to be in Greentech?:

“I watched the Warren Buffet special last night on CNBC and he made it clear, "if you don't invest now, you will not come out on top". Most people don't understand that now is the time to get involved. Products are cheaper, and you can usually work out some great deals for services.”

“While there has been a bit of a shift of mindframe away from Greentech, due to the economy, I believe that there has been enough momentum and drive built up that it will push through the downturn. It also helps that the downturn seems to be hitting bottom instead of getting more severe...”

“I wanted to say I fully agree with you, despite the overall mindset. I myself have been in the industry for quite sometime now both on the investment side and the entrepreneurial”

“You are right, yet I think that comparing Greentech to the Internet Bubble is somewhat of a stretch because this is more tangible, it is more of the "Old Economy". People can calculate real ROIs and this is where I see the main challenge to industries worldwide.
Without Governments' support and incentives, the current ROI on a PV system (as an example) is completely uneconomical. Greentech has to succeed - we have no other choice so industry will come up with viable and affordable solutions that make sense”

“Personally... I think its pretty straight forward: The greentech companies that can actually make money (not just promises) will thrive and get funding. The ones that simply "paint pictures for the future" will likely not make it through the tough economy”

“The U.S. government doesn't have the drive to be in Greentech. It may talk a big game, but there's little investment for new ideas. Venture capital (at least outside of California) doesn't appear to have the drive to be in Greentech. The investors we speak to can't articulate how you generate ROI”

Until next time: SHALOM!