Three-day annual conference, marking 20th year, brings together thousands of participants for newest innovations in medical and heath tech

Some of the innovative scientific developments behind leading food technologies, as well as new cancer treatments, will take center stage at the upcoming Biomed Israel summit next week, an annual conference on life sciences and health tech that brings together scientists, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors from dozens of countries across the world.

This year, the three-day conference is marking its 20th anniversary with 10 different tracks — infectious diseases, robotics in the medical field, and AI and machine learning, among others, in addition to precision cancer diagnostics and therapies, and “bio food” and its impact on human health. Each track will be chaired by a professional leader in their relevant field and the conference, which organizers say expects about 6,000 people, will also host an exhibition where hundreds of Israeli companies can present their products and technologies.

Dr. Tammy Meiron, CTO at Israel’s Fresh Start Food Tech Incubator and the chair of the food tech track, told The Times of Israel that the sessions will focus on “bio-food technologies and how we adapt biotech into the food tech arena to produce more sustainable food.”

“There’s a growing consensus that, due to the climate crisis, we have to find better ways to feed the growing [world] population. There are increasing demands for food and there are ethical aspects of growing our food from animals,” said Meiron.

“This younger generation is more aware of this [issue], and it’s also the first generation to come to realize the dangers of the climate crisis,” she added. These dangers have been described as a “code red for humanity” that requires urgent action by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“We have a window of about 10 years. It is critical that we deliver solutions in food tech,” she said.

In this file photo taken on October 22, 2020, a farmer walks among orange trees dried out by drought on Morocco’s southern plains of Agadir in the country’s agricultural heartland. (Fadel Senna/AFP)

Meiron is an experienced food tech professional, having headed the protein department at US biochemical company Sigma Aldrich (later acquired by Merck) where she led production on more than 450 different proteins and enzymes, before joining Fresh Start in 2019.

The food tech incubator, based in the northern Israel city of Kiryat Shmona, is a project led by the Israel Innovation Authority together with Israeli company Tnuva, beverage firm Tempo, Israeli investment company OurCrowd, and Finistere Ventures, a global investor in food tech and agritech.

“We incubate companies for 2-3 years and bring them to the next level of investment. So far we have supported eight companies and intend to support at least 40 by 2028,” she explained.

Fresh Start is currently working with seven companies including one that is developing cell-cultured fish and two that are working on sugar reduction technologies.

An illustrative photo of cell-cultivated fish created by Israeli food tech startup Wanda Fish. (Marcomit)

During the conference next week, a number of known companies will be presenting, including Future Meat and Aleph Farms, leading developers of cultivated meat, and Wilk, a developer of animal-free cultured milk and cell-based human milk.

Meiron believes food tech such as cultivated meat and fish, alternative protein, animal-free milk and dairy, and others, can help ensure food security in the decades to come. “The weather and the agriculture won’t be the same. We will have to adapt,” she said.

Her track at the Biomed conference will cover new biotech technologies that are now applied to food production to help solve these issues and release the reliance on traditional agriculture for more sustainable methods.

Challenges the industry faces will also be addressed including pricing, scalability, resources, and infrastructure. “It costs thousands of dollars to make food in a lab, it’s a huge issue. We need people to choose these options as their food,” said Meiron.

At the same time, investors are flocking to the industry. “We saw a dramatic acceleration in the last 2 years, VCs now all want a piece of food tech. We’re seeing a lot of money [being invested] because of the understanding that this is a critical issue,” she said.

A rib-eye steak produced from meat cells cultivated in a laboratory by Israeli start-up Aleph Farms. (Courtesy: Aleph Farms/Technion Institute of Technology)

In Israel, the alternative protein sector, a segment of its vibrant food tech industry, grew by about 450% in 2021 from the previous year, with Israeli startups in the field raising some $623 million in investments, according to a report released in March. The Good Food Institute (GFI) Israel, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote research and innovation in food tech, found that the $623 million in investments accounted for about 12% of the global capital raised for the sector worldwide last year (about $5 billion) and was “second only to the US.”

The next stage in food tech, Meiron said, was the “enabling tech that facilitates the tech of companies that already raised money, to reduce pricing and so on.”

Precision oncology

In oncology, the next stage is “precision oncology” where cancer treatments are adapted based on individual biology, said Dr. Ofer Sharon, CEO of OncoHost, the developer of a blood test to predict how well cancer patients will react to treatment. Sharon will chair the Biomed track that looks at advancements in cancer therapies and precision-based therapeutics, driven by biomarkers and artificial intelligence tools.

Today, most cancer care treatment plans are “based on protocol, and given to everyone, whether they are a 74-year-old woman or a 35-year-old man; they’ll get the same treatment,” Sharon said.

“Chemotherapy is like carpet bombing and it doesn’t differentiate between healthy cells and cancer cells,” he explained. “The field is now changing to focus on specific targets and adapt treatment to the level of the mutation” while providing customized care based on biology.

The track will hear from two types of companies — those developing targeted drugs that tackle specific mutations and those, like Oncohost, that look for individual biomarkers.

Illustrative image of cancer cells (Design Cells; iStock by Getty Images)

“We look for the biological indications that affect treatment… to identify whether a patient is going to respond to treatment” or help point to another one, said Sharon.

Another company in this field is Nucleai, which uses computer vision and machine learning to study the characteristics of tumors to help drug companies predict who will react to medication.

This rising field is also facing key issues, such as regulatory hurdles, and a need for a medical “paradigm shift,” said Sharon.

“Fighting cancer is a war, and there is understanding that there is a price. There’s a need to ‘kill the entity’ and doctors want to act as quickly as possible,” Sharon explained. Precision medicine takes a different approach that may take more time but can be much more effective.

The industry also needs closer collaboration with pharmaceutical giants. “There are excellent drugs out there but they work for a minority of patients. To treat cancer, we need a better understanding of this complex disease. It requires education and more awareness,” said Sharon.

The annual Biomed conference in Tel Aviv, 2019. (Courtesy)

On the regulatory side, he said, “there is no regulatory body that can approve [the technologies] in an efficient way.” There is also no regulatory body that specifically examines technologies based on AI and machine learning.

“There is a lot of work to be done for market adoption,” said Sharon.

The Biomed conference will run from May 10 to 12 in Tel Aviv. It is co-chaired by Ruti Alon, founder and CEO of Medstrada, a food tech VC fund, Dr. Ora Dar, a consultant and expert in medical sciences and health innovation and the former head of health and life sciences sector at the Israel Innovation Authority, and Dr. Nissim Darvish, a managing general partner at MeOHR Ventures, a private equity firm that focuses on world-changing cures for serious diseases.

H2Pro announces and celebrates laying the cornerstone of its first production facility, capable of producing 600MW/year of Green Hydrogen systems.

The facility is the first of its kind in Israel and will produce affordable green hydrogen systems at scale based on H2Pro’s innovative E-TAC technology.

 H2Pro announces the cornerstone ceremony for its new production facility (F1) in the Tzipporit industrial zone in Israel.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by 300 guests, including senior officials from the Energy Ministry, the CEO of the Innovation Authority, the Mayor, Technion leadership, partners, investors, and company employees.

The 600 megawatts (MW) facility is the first of its kind in Israel. In this facility H2Pro will produce cost-effective systems for producing green hydrogen from water and electricity. 

These systems are based on H2Pro’s innovative and patented technology called E-TAC (Electrochemical – Thermally Activated Chemical). By the end of 2023, the factory should be up and running. Once operational, it will create over 100 new jobs.

Four years ago, I got on a call with Gidi, Avner and Hen.

Talmon Marco, H2Pro’s CEO

“A call which was to bring to life a new company, conceived at the Technion, dedicated to solving the greatest challenge of our generation – the climate crisis. Making the world better, for us, for our children and for generations to come.” 

“Today, there are almost a hundred of us, innovating at a breakneck pace. Working hard to bring hydrogen to the world at an unparalleled efficiency. Affordable. Renewable. Green.” 

“Our achievements to date, impressive as they may be, are just the beginning of a journey. We’re just getting started. H2Pro is more than just a business. It is a vision. It is a mission. Our mission,” added Talmon.

H2Pro is developing a water splitting device, expected to reach an unprecedented 95% efficiency that will cost less than any electrolyzer today. The system will support renewable energy. Coupled with anticipated reductions in the cost of renewable energy, H2Pro believes its technology will enable $1/kg hydrogen at scale in the second half of this decade. 

The company earlier this year announced the closing of its $75 Million Series B financing. 

The B round was upsized and led by Temasek and Horizons Ventures with participation from existing investors such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures and multiple new strategic investors, including ArcelorMittal, Yara Growth Ventures, and Companhia Siderugica Nacional. The latest round brings total funding to $107 million. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.

About H2Pro

Founded in 2019 and based in Caesarea, Israel, H2Pro develops E-TAC – a revolutionary method for producing green hydrogen by splitting water that is over 95% efficient, safe and cost-competitive with fossil-fuel hydrogen.

H2Pro’s technology, known as E-TAC (Electrochemical – Thermally Activated Chemical), uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. However, unlike electrolysis, hydrogen and oxygen are produced at separate steps. 

This eliminates the need for a costly membrane, allows for a simpler construction and significantly lowers power consumption compared to electrolysis.

H2Pro is backed by leading investors and strategic partners, such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Temasek, Horizons Ventures, ArcelorMittal, Yara Growth Ventures, Hyundai, Sumitomo Corporation and New Fortress Energy. 

E-TAC is based on years of research conducted by its founding team at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. H2Pro is the winner of Shell’s 2020 New Energy Challenge.

H2Pro announces and celebrates laying the cornerstone of its first production facility, capable of producing 600MW/year of Green Hydrogen systems, CAESAREA, Israel, March 30, 2022 

Of the three founders behind the Israeli company behind autonomous tractors, two are alumni of the Israel Institute of Technology

As the International Day of Forests approaches (Monday, March 21), two alumni of the Technion are revolutionising the agricultural industry.

Founded in 2017 by Yair Shahar and Aviram Shmueli, along with Ben Alfi, Blue White Robotics started as a platform that connects autonomous systems to real-world applications.

Hoping to create a “cohesive” experience across farming operations, its smart tractors are designed to improve farm productivity, precision and worker safety. It comes amid a growing disruption within the industry as farmers continue to reap the benefits of smart technology, especially with the world’s growing demand for food in mind.

The ultimate solution for the company is for permanent crops, which usually means trees, shrubs or anything that can last several seasons, instead of being replanted after each harvest.

The current focus is California, due to its being the main market to suffer from labour shortages and increasing costs, although the company has also started projects in Israel.

The theme for this year’s International Day of Forests is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption.”

The Israeli Institute of Technology continues to be at the forefront of groundbreaking solutions to help protect our planet – both inside and outside the university

A growing number of impressive Israeli startups – borne out of Technion minds – are making improvements in several different areas of the environment:

  • SkyX – which develops autonomous aircraft that scan large areas of land to analyse data on infrastructure projects – was co-founded by Technion alumni
  • Luminescent – which delivers greener solutions to generate heat and electricity – has a Technion lecturer on its team
  • H2Pro – which generates hydrogen and oxygen in a cheaper and less harmful way – was founded by leading hydrogen experts from the university
  • Asterra (formerly Utilis) – which uses technology to detect leaks, saving billions of gallons of water – has as its VP yet another Technion alumnus
  • Most of the team behind Breezometer – which aims to monitor air quality and help improve people’s health – graduated from the Institute
  • Chakratec – which offers kinetic energy storage technologies to fast-charging stations for electric cars – has as its CEO a Technion alumnus

Meanwhile, another Israeli startup is behind the concept of enabling buildings to create their own energy amid soaring electricity consumption worldwide.

TurboGen – whose President and CEO, Yaron Gilboa, is a Technion alumnus – has introduced small, lightweight, easy-to-use and efficient microturbines that can generate electricity, heat and cooling.

They can replace traditional boilers and air conditioners across residential buildings, hospitals, offices, and hotels using natural gas.

While a standard generator usually reaches 35-40% efficiency, “the prototype we built at our lab in Petah Tikva will reach 90% efficiency”, according to Gilboa.

“The advantages of the system are lowering electricity and heating costs in buildings, providing resistance to power outages and reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by replacing the boiler,” he is reported to have said.

“This technology can also lower real estate and rental prices of apartments and offices.”

Looking to the future, he hopes to utilise solar dishes to power the turbines, meaning the system “could run 100% on renewable green resources.”

Between cell-grown steaks and cow-free milk, professors and graduates from the Israeli Institute of Technology are cooking up a new way forward

A whole host of innovative food companies changing the way we treat animals are the products of leading Technion minds.

Aleph Farms – the first company to grow steaks directly from the cells of cows – was co-founded by Technion Professor, Shulamit Levenberg, SavorEat, a company that produces 3D-printed burger patties via a robot chef using ingredient cartridges has as its VP a Technion alumnus and Itay Dana, another Technion alumnus, works as Head of Product Innovation at SuperMeat.

A recent investment round of $105 million went to Aleph Farms, which they say will help execute large-scale global commercialization and portfolio expansion into new types of animal protein and product lines.

Cell-based meat involves growing actual meat from cell cultures taken from a live animal and SuperMeat uses the same process to apply to chicken.

Meanwhile, food-tech innovator – Imagindairy – which develops real milk in the lab without harming animals, is making huge strides in a market that wants something better than plant-based milks. 

Co-founded by Technion alumnus, Dr. Eyal Afergan, it cultivates milk proteins from animal cells, meaning the nutritional value, taste, smell and texture is the same as cow’s milk but without causing any suffering to the animal. This startup has also raised $1.5 million in funding.