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Eilat-Eilot aims to serve as a showcase for cutting edge energy innovation.
The Eilat-Eilot region is a hub for developing and implementing clean-tech and clean energy.
Some of the biggest challenges in clean energy are in the transportation of solar / wind energy from the production areas to the consumption areas, long-term storage and clean fuel for transportation. Green hydrogen can provide the solution to these issues.
We at Eilat-Eilot have taken up the gauntlet and are promoting pilots to produce green hydrogen for various uses: fuelling electric vehicles, fuelling heavy vehicles with hydrogen, producing heat for industry, and transporting clean energy to power plants. In the first phase, a pilot will be established by Doral company together with Israeli startup H2PRO to produce 400 kilowatts of hydrogen and in the second phase 30 megawatts that will produce 500 tons of green hydrogen per year for various uses.
The goal of the Innovation Committee, funded by the Kasser Joint Institute for Food, Water and Energy Security, is to serve as a catalyst for innovation and to provide solutions for hyper-arid farming, particularly in the developing world. We are testing technologies complementary to Agrivoltaics at the Southern Arava R&D facility and the most suitable technology according to the challenges and price will be moved forward with intention to launch in Africa.
Currently being tested and developed is a small, fully automated, water desalination technology provided by EZPack, a company specialized in water storage and distribution. The water desalination technology, EZPuro, is powered using photovoltaics modules that are installed in the nearby Agrivoltaics facility. The relatively salty water (pumped from the aquafer) is desalinated by the EZPuro technology and that product is then used to irrigate the crops. The EZPuro technology is a robust technology that is planned to be the heart of the water production facility at our off-grid technology validation and innovation facility.
Installed in Kibbutz Yahel is a first of its kind in the world, compressed air energy storage facility. An air battery that uses air and water to store energy in a cheap and safe way and with 81% efficiency.
The batteries are large containers made of a unique polymer, which significantly lowers production and maintenance costs. The containers are stored underground in iron pipes with a layer of concrete above them.
The Yahel site consist of a 1MW project in 4 tanks of 250KW per hour each, and two more underground operating tanks. Each container has 123 kb. The air pressure in the tanks reaches up to 40 bar (up to 60 bar is possible).
The agrivoltaic facility in the Arava, funded by the JNF Joint Institute for Global Food, Water and Energy Security, combines renewable energy generation with field crops. The installed capacity is about 8.5 kilowatts per 100 square meters. The field grow tomatoes, onions, wheat and corn according to the seasons and tests are made to see whether land can have a dual-use for both electricity production and growing food.
This experiment is performed in the Southern Arava R&D Center.
In 2011 we established an experimental field and a verification center for renewable energies.
The site, located in Kibbutz Ketura, is an essential station for project development, in that it provides all the operational and managerial needs of the projects.
The experimental field and the verification center are a platform for accelerating projects in order to bring them from the theoretical planning and research phase to the production and export phase, in desert climatic conditions in preparation for the field.
Companies interested in using the space and tools offered by the center are welcome to contact us via: info@eilateilot.org
Past project
Ecopia develops advanced robotic solutions for cleaning solar panels in large solar installations completely automatically and without the use of water, to minimize loss of efficiency, caused by dust and sandstorms in desert areas.
Ecopia held their pre-market pilot in Israel’s first solar field in Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava, back in 2015. Since the company has began its commercial stage and their products are available for purchase.
Past project
Aora company thermo-solar tower was built in 2011 in the southern area of Kibbutz Samar in the Arava, and was based on research from Weizmann Institute of Science. This innovative facility towered to 30 meter high, with 30 heliostat mirrors on the surrounding ground. The mirrors directed sun rays to the head of the tower warming up the temperature to 1000 Celsius and up, operating a gas turbine generating 100KW electricity and 170KW heat.
This groundbreaking pilot was the first thermo-solar power plant in Israel and was connected to the national grid. Eventually PV prices dropped significantly, which turned PV to the most common solar technology used today. The tower suffered a fire back in 2017 and has been retired since.
With our encouragement and support, clean energy departments have been created in all regional organizations that deal with research, development and study of renewable energy.
The Dead Sea and Arava Science Center operates throughout Israel’s southern region of the Dead Sea and Arava, up to the city of Eilat, an area that covers 20% of the territory of the State of Israel. There are four local authorities in this area: Megilot, Tamar, Arava Tichona and the Eilot region.
The Arava Institute promotes research and environmental-applied projects in collaboration with researchers and organizations in the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.
The center deals with a variety of topics: agriculture in extreme climates, herbs, renewable energy, water resource management, sewage treatment, water desalination, mapping the biological diversity in the area, protection of natural resources and more.
The Center for Development at the Institute translates the innovative research into practical technological solutions.
