Israeli Smart Grid group receives R&D funding
The Israeli Smart Grid (ISG) Consortium has received funding through the MAGNET R&D program run by the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
The consortium, which was spearheaded by CEVA — a licensor of silicon intellectual property platform solutions and digital signal processor cores — consists of seven industrial partners and five academic institutions. The group plans to use the funding for a three- to five-year development program focused on new technologies and algorithms for the emerging smart-grid market, including communication technologies, demand response and consumption forecasting.
CEVA will offer its communications expertise to meet the needs of smart grid applications such as smart meter modems and smart home appliances.
“The use of smart-grid technology is essential worldwide as we look for more efficient energy solutions,” said Eran Briman, vice president of marketing at CEVA. “The market opportunity is extremely large and, as it develops, it is also important to have a flexible architecture to be able to support evolving standards and future market requirements.”
The ISG Consortium currently consists of seven industrial partners — CEVA, Motorola Solutions Israel, ECI Telecom, Yitran Communications, Ruggedcom, Control Applications and Powercom — and five Israeli academic institutions, including Tel-Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University and Bar-Ilan University. The Israeli Electric Company (IEC) is also supporting the consortium’s activities.
The MAGNET program in the Office of the Chief Scientist sponsors innovative industry-oriented technologies to strengthen Israel’s technological expertise and enhance competitiveness. It supports both industrial companies and academic research groups to facilitate its vision of synergetic collaboration to develop new and innovative products.
