U.S.-Israel Energy Center of Excellence

U.S.-Israel Energy Center — Proposals (Second

Supports United States and Israel consortia in fossil energy, energy storage, and energy-water research through the Center of Excellence.

Eligibility · United States, Israel

The U.S.-Israel Center of Excellence for Energy, Engineering, and Water Technology issued a second-round Call for Proposals in January 2026, managed by the BIRD Foundation and jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Israel Ministry of Energy, and Israel Innovation Authority. The program is authorized under the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014. Unlike standard BIRD bilateral grants, applicants must form consortia — groupings that include U.S. and Israeli companies, universities, and research institutes together — not individual company pairs. Executive summaries are due June 30, 2026; full proposals are due September 15, 2026; and award decisions are expected in December 2026.

The 2026 call covers three topic areas: Fossil Energy, Energy Storage, and Energy-Water Nexus. (Cyber, which appeared in the first-round call, was dropped for 2026.) Each funded consortium receives a three-year grant with an optional two-year extension, subject to Energy Center stakeholder approval, consortium performance, and fund availability. Award amounts are not published in the call documents; the first-round awarded multi-million-dollar, multi-year grants to four consortia led by institutions including Tulane University, University of Maryland, Northwestern University, and Arizona State University. The minimum consortium size is three organizations.

To win, applicants must demonstrate genuine bilateral collaboration with named U.S. and Israeli partners, technical merit in one of the three topic areas, and a credible multi-year research plan. Contact Ms. Tal Fischelovitch at talf@birdf.com for pre-application guidance. The full CFP document is available via the BIRD Foundation active-trail link issued in January 2026.