Agenda

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

HALL A

11:15 - 13:45

MUNICIPALITY: Water Resource Management: Decentralized vs. Centralized Treatment

Moderator:

Arnon Yohanan, Head of Application Engineering, Aquestia

Keynote:

TBD, “Introduction to policy and practices outside of Israel, using case studies”

Speaker: International Policy

Gideon Bechar, Israel Climate Ambassador, MOF, “Water as the basis for Climate Adaptation”

Speaker: National Policy

Liad Deri Hermon, Supervisor & Regulation Engineer, Israel Water Authority, “The Israeli Policy on water re-use in the urban and municipal area”

Speaker: Industrial Re-Use

Yotvat Barel, Environmental Engineer, Intel, “Water re-use as a strategy”

Comments:

Or Sagi Magrisso

Invited Speaker: Technology Provider

Clive Lipchin, Laguna Innovation, “Off-grid wastewater treatment and water re-use for remote locations”

Panel Discussion and Questions: The future of water re-use: Israel vs. the World

Closing:

Arnon Yohanan

12:25 - 13:45 |Water Treatment Technologies (Micro Pollutants and PFAS)

Moderator:

Dr. Tamar Berman, Chief Toxicologist Env Health, Ministry of Health

Topics: TBD

Keynote Speaker:

Prof. Benny Chefetz, Director, ARO – Volcani Institute Professor, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “Regulatory and practical aspects of micropollutants in water”

Presentation:

Nivi Kessler, Water Authority, “Mapping PFAS Contamination in Israel”

Keynote Speaker:

Shai Ezra, Director, Dpt. of Water Security, Mekorot, “PFAS: Perspectives from Israel’s National Water Utility”

Presentation:

Avner Ronen, Snr. Lecturer, Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, “PFAS Removal and monitoring in Drinking Water”

Presentation:

Prof. Ines Zucker, School of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv University, “New Technologies for PFAS Destruction”

HALL B

11:15 - 12:25

NATURE: KKL

Moderator: TBD

Topics: TBD

Speakers: TBD

12:25 – 13:45 | Water Investment Bank

Moderator:

World Bank Representative

Topics: TBD

Speakers: TBD

HALL A

14:30 - 15:40

AGRICULTURE: Regenerative Ag and Water Tech Innovation

Moderator:

Rachel Shaul, Snr. Executive, Global Organizations

Panel:

Ilanit Kabessa Cohen, Managing Partner, URIKA Venture and Innovation Partners, “Cultivating Sustainability: Multinational Perspectives on Regenerative Agriculture”

Ori Ben-Herzel, VP of Value Creation, MIGAL Galilee Research Institute

Dan Grotsky, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Groundwork BioAg

15:40 - 17:00

Economic Models for Water Saving

Moderator: Tami Shor, COO, N-Drip Micro Irrigation

Panel:

Galit Cohen, Director, Climate Change Program, INSS – The Institute for National Security Studies

Ambassador Einat Shlein, Head of MASHAV, Deputy Director General, Ministry of foreign Affairs

Irwin Boutboul, Founder, Google Startups for Sustainable Development

HALL B

14:30 - 15:40

Desalination Overview

Welcome: Miriam Brusilovsky, IDE Technologies

Desalination Overview

Keynote: Alon Tavor, CEO, IDE Water Technologies

Policy and Regulation

Status and Future of Desalination in Israel

Moderator: Eyal Schreiber, Chairman, Director of the Desalination DivisionWDA)

Regulation and Policy Panel

Dr. Tamar Berman, Chief Toxicologist, Env MOH

Iris Safrai, Industrial Wastewater Officer, Marine & Coastal Division, The Ministry of Environmental Control

Water Resilience

TBD

15:40 – 17:00 | Innovation and Emerging Technologies

Moderator:

Miriam Faigon Frisi, CTO & Deputy to CEO, BlueGen Water

Topics:

Pressure Retarded Osmosis

High Recovery RO

Active Membranes

Speakers:

Dr. Boris Liberman, CTO and Vice President, IDE, “Osmotic Power Generation”

Dr. Arian Edalat, Co-Founder & CEO, Active Membranes, “Not only Shampoo: “3 in 1″ with electrically conductive membranes: Less chemicals, Enhanced Boron rejection, Less Fouling”

Nir Assulin, Engineer. Bluegen Water, “Biomax – New MBBR carrier development”

Sivan Zamir, VP, Early-Stage Innovation & Corporate Venture, Xylem, “Accelerating the Diffusion of Innovation in the Water Industry”

HALL A

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

HALL A

11:15 - 12:25

AGRICULTURE:Digitalization vs Conservative approaches

Moderator:

Danielle Abraham, Executive Director, Volcani International Partnerships

Topics: TBD

Speakers: TBD

12:30 - 13:45

AGRICULTURE: Turning the Tide: Tackling Water Challenges for Smallholder Farmers

Moderators:

Roni Levy, Project Manager, Pears Program for Global Innovation

Yonatan Bukhdruker, Project Manager, Pears Program for Global Innovation

Turning the Tide: Tackling Water Challenges for Smallholder Farmers

Panel:

Roni Levy, Project Manager, Pears Program for Global Innovation

Yonatan Bukhdruker, Project Manager, Pears Program for Global Innovation

Daniel Pinhassi, Director of Business Development and Project Management, Green2000

Alex Harel, CEO, EZPack Water Ltd.

Lior Naaman, Chief Markeing Officer, SupPlant

Ronit Sela, VP Projects and Impact, NDrip

HALL B

11:15 - 12:25

DESALINATION: Mekorot - Israel National Water Company

Desalination & Special Projects at Mekorot-23 desalination plants

Moderator: Carmit Ram, Director of Desalination and Special Projects DivisionMekorot

Panel:

Carmit Ram, Director of Desalination and Special Projects DivisionMekorot

Innovation in Mekorot-New project in Sabha

Dudi Balsar, General Manager of Innovation and Ventures, Mekorot

International Activities of Mekorot

Diego Berger, International Special Projects Coordinator, Mekorot

Barak Graber, Director of International Business, Mekorot

PPP and Finance

Panel: TBD

Bank: TBD

Desalination and Sustainability

Moderator: Alejandro Sturniolo, Director, International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA)

TED Panel

Environmental Impact

Alejandro Sturniolo, Director, International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA)

Sustainability

Gabriel Blejman, European Director, Circular Carbon

Carbon Capture

Iddo Tsur, Co-Founder & COO, Carbon Blue

Water Positive

Tomer Efrat, Director, Business Development & Product Management, IDE Technologies

12:30 – 13:45 | Decision Support Systems and Digitalization in RO Facilities

Moderator: Natan Zuta, Co-Founder & CEO, IOSight

Panelists:

Borja Blanco, CEO, Aqua Advise

David Muhlgay, CEO, Omis

Gilad Horn, CEO, Aquatis

Ronny Weizman, Head of the Department of Industrial Engineering, Azrieli Jerusalem College of Engineering

Session topics:

Can we defer desalination and RO units from other water segments in terms of adopting digital solutions?
What are the potential AI/ML applications and how can they benefit facilities’ bottom lines (cost reduction, predictive maintenance, organizational impact, equipment, human resources)?
What are the pre-requisite conditions to launch a digital technology implementation?
How can we ensure successful delivery?
How impactful is the human factor in the success of the integration?

Final question – so why are AI/ML solutions so rare in desalination plants currently?

HALL A

14:30 - 15:40

MUNICIPALITY: Innovative Approaches to Challenges at Water Utilities

Moderator:

14:30 -14:35 | Opening Remarks:

Ravid Levy, CEO, WaterEdge, Israel, “National water community: A model for building a collaborative ecosystem”

14:35 – 14: 45 | Keynote:

Booky Oren, “Proposed mechanisms to address water utility challenges”

14: 45 – 14:55 | Keynote:

David Balsar, Mekorot, “Internal and external innovation for addressing challenges in a National utility”

14:55 – 15: 20 | Tech Pitch’s:

TBD –XYLEM

Tal Levi, Bermad, “Meet your non-revenue water targets by digitized pressure management”

Ran Kedem, Realiteq, ” Digital transformation in water utilities- A Comprehensive Guide to Success”

15: 20 – 15: 45 | Panel Discussion including all Session Speakers:

“Addressing utility challenges through knowledge exchange”

15:45 - 17:00

Smart Water Systems & Digitalization - Digital as a Mindset: When Challenges Become Smart Opportunities

Moderator:

Shirley Ben Dak, Senior Advisor, SWAN Forum

15:45 – 15:50 | Session Introduction: Shirley Ben Dak, “Smart Water: From Nice-to-Have to Must-Have”

15:50 – 16:00 | Keynote: Doron Mansdorf , Section Manager, Hagihon, ” Data-as-a-Service: Business Model Innovation to Address Complex Challenges”

16:00 – 16:35 | Panel Discussion:

“Digital as a Mindset: When Challenges Become Smart Opportunities”

Dr. Avi Ostfeld, Professor, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion, Haifa

Ohad Gal, VP R&D, AQS

Ella Levy, Chief of Environmental Data Analytic Engineering, IOSight

16:35 – 16:45 | Audience Q/A

16:45 – 17:00 |Thinking Outside the Box: Customer-Centric Case Studies

Ricardo (Caco) Gilead Baibich, CTO, Business Development Manager, Mekorot

Lea Duxler, Business Development Manager, ASTERRA, “Protecting Water Resources on the Greek Isles Using Satellites”

Daniel Ehrenreich, Consultant and Lecturer, SCCE– Secure Communications and Control Experts, ICS Cybersecurity, “Cybersecurity to Ensure Business Continuity”

HALL B

14:30 - 15:40

NATURE

Moderator:

Leehee Goldenberg, VP of Policy & Head of Legal, Oporto Carbon

Keynote Speaker:

Yael Dubinsky, PhD, KIC-Development Manager, Kinneret Innovation Center

Topics: TBD

Speakers:

Michal Shlomy, Lecturer, Kinneret Academic College, Kinneret High-Tech School, Ruppin College, Sami Shamoon College, the Hebrew University

Water, Climate Change & Regional Cooperation Panel:

Galit Cohen, Head of Climate and National Security, INSS

Eli Bar-On, Executive Director, MENA 2050

Shirley Shahar, Co-Founder, Dana Global

15:45 - 17:00

Natural Resources - The Security Challenge

Moderator: TBD

Topics: TBD

Speakers: TBD