11 Water Technologies and Desertification Greater role of software in today’s climate tech start-ups There are specific fields related to environmental issues where Israel has strongholds such as water technologies, agriculture and alternative energy (especially solar energy). Over the past few years, several actors in Israel are actively seeking to merge Israel’s agricultural, energy and water technology capabilities with this start-up scene in order to convert Israel into a global leader within the clean-tech area – a field often defined as ‘environmental technologies that involve products, processes or services that reduce the negative environmental impacts of various industries or improve the efficiency of the use of natural resources.’ According to the Israeli law firm, Meitar, “Israel's leadership in these areas includes the establishment of effective and efficient water desalination facilities and ensuring "water independence" and the development of advanced water technologies in a variety of areas. These include efficient irrigation technologies, desalination and well water improvement, polluted water purification, water quality monitoring, reducing water leaks, water metering including remote metering, water security, cyber assessment for water systems and more.” One reason why today’s climate and clean tech boom will play out more favorably than previously is the role of software in today’s climate tech startups. The first clean-tech era was dominated by companies that simply did not fit this profile: solar panel start-ups, battery start-ups, biofuel start-ups, electric vehicle start-ups. These companies had to build factories, develop large-scale manufacturing and production strategies, engage in years of basic science development, iterate through generations of hardware prototypes—often before they even knew whether they had a commercially viable product. They did not benefit from the basic dynamics and economics that software companies enjoy. Israel tops the list of G20 countries operating in the fields of precision agriculture, cultivated meat, irrigation systems and water desalination
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