Space Florida and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) have issued a new joint call for project proposals valued at $2 million in research and development funding, marking the eighth year in a row that the competition has been conducted.
“We are pleased to announce this latest joint call for projects in partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority,” said Frank DiBello, President and CEO of Space Florida.Israeli and Florida-based for-profit companies are asked to present cooperative proposals, which will be vetted for feasibility. Funding will be awarded to those companies demonstrating promising partnerships and near-term potential for commercialization and economic benefit to both states.
Applying teams must submit a completed application, including a Bi-Lateral Cooperation form that describes the project and the collaboration envisioned between the Florida company and the Israeli company.Applications open on October 19, 2020 and are due to Space Florida and IIA on February 22, 2021.
The applications will then be independently evaluated and scored by Space Florida and the IIA. The two companies will then jointly agree which applications will be funded.
In October 2013, Florida and Israel initiated an annually recurring $2 million joint program to support research, development and commercialization of aerospace and related technology projects that benefit both Israel and the State of Florida.
The projects approved to date encompass a wide range of promising research, including the development of next generation 3D printed circuit systems, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), innovative radiation shielding technology, next-generation capacitors to power spacecraft, and identifying specific changes in human muscle and immune cells to model disease in reduced gravity environments.
“This partnership between Space Florida and the Israel Innovation Authority continues to strengthen the aerospace ecosystem in our state as well as in Israel,” said Lt. Governor Jeanette Nuñez. “We look forward to the results to come from this next joint call for projects and the continued collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority.”
“The ongoing collaboration between Israel and Florida on space related technologies brought about unique innovations to this sector,” said Aharon Aharon, IIA CEO.“We are therefore excited to be able to expand this successful collaboration to include projects in advanced development and piloting stages, as well as supporting related technologies such as IT, AI, Health, Agriculture, Communication, Cyber Security, Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics. These joint projects and collaborations will further strengthen the economies of both states.”