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The UK Track of the Merage
DeserTech Competition

UK Companies Adapting to Arid climates

Climate change increases the extent of deserts globally, and with it the need to adapt to extreme climate conditions. The Merage DeserTech competition together with the Wohl Clean Growth Alliance, the British Council and the UK Science & Innovation Network, offers a designated track for companies (SME's) from the UK, interested in exploring new markets, learning about the most burning desert issues and the growing business opportunities that come with adapting solutions to arid climates. DeserTech is a growing sector predicted to affect more than 9 billion people by 2050.

Explore how your solution can address climate adaptation challenges and how you can engage in this emerging sector.

Competition Prize: DeserTech Adaptation Seminar

The 10 leading UK companies will be invited to participate in a fully funded prestigious and intensive Technology Adaptation Seminar in Be'er Sheva, Israel, where they will:

Understand

The essential issues around Desertech that are relevant to your product

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Explore

The necessary changes to embed in your technology to better address desert needs

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Expand

Your understanding of stakeholders in the field: experts, suppliers, competitors and customers

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Interact

With the vibrant Israeli DeserTech ecosystem: experts, academia, entrepreneurs & corporates that specialize in the field

Who Can Apply?

UK SME's operating in the sectors of water, renewable energy, agriculture or infrastructure that:

  1. Have a solution that can be adapted to arid climates and address a global desert challenge 

  2. Show readiness to expand to new markets and invest in new technologies

Evaluation Process

Companies will be evaluated based on the following criteria:​​

Relevance

 

Degree in which the technology or service can address one or more desert challenges: extreme climate, water scarcity and availability, land degradation and remote & marginal living

Feasibility

 

Can the technology or service be adapted to effectively operate in arid climates?

Impact

 

Positive environmental, economic, and social impact of the solution to the given challenge

Business Model

 

Scalability & commercialization potential of the solution in the global market

Readiness

 

To build collaborations to reach new markets and invest in new technologies

The evaluation process will be conducted by an international judging committee consisting of leading experts from the industry and academia.

The judging committee will select the 10 UK companies with the most promising solutions or readiness to adapt its technology and build collaborations to reach new markets.

Judging Committee

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Parmjit S. Chima

Head of Engineering Department,
Harper Adams University, UK

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Ian Cox

Innovation Lead,
Agri-Tech Centers

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Helen Sweeney

UK National Contact Point

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Rob Ward

Founder and CEO

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Jenna Ross

International Business Development Manager

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Tareq Abu Hamed

Director,

Arava Institute

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Prof. Moshe Herzberg

Researcher,

The Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Ben Gurion University

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Dr. Eran Raveh

Head,

Gilat Research Center

Media Partners

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