Whie it is home to many revered religious sites, Israel also seems to have a strong faith in its ability to produce innovative energy technologies.

The Israel Ministry of National Infrastructures and the U.S. Department of Energy updated the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation act this week during the Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference. The Cooperation Act will fund joint ventures between U.S. and Israeli businesses with $2 million ($1 million from each country) aimed at creating a renewable energy storage initiative to reduce the world’s oil dependence.

"Israel is well-known in the world as a technology innovator. The concentration of scientific innovation in the country is impressive," said Jonathan Shrier, Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy.

Two projects have already received approval for the funding – Seambiotic and Better Place. Seambiotic is the first company in the world to utilize flue gas from coal-burning power stations for algae cultivation, and Better Place aims to create an electric car infrastructure with swappable batteries, and has already received a lot of venture capital.

The collaboration will continue long after this three-day conference ends. Two conferences in the U.S. and two in Israel will take place annually. The annual conference in Sde Boker, Israel, will focus on the technological advancements in the Renewable Energy industry while the annual Eilat-Eilot conference will serve as a platform for industry-ready technologies to exhibit and market their offerings. In addition, researchers from Israel will spend significant time working in the U.S. market, while researchers from the U.S. will do the same in Israel.

Other announcements during the conference show a prospect for a thriving renewable energy market in Israel. In efforts to turn Southern Israel into the Silicon Valley of renewable energy, the Eilat-Eliot region is creating the Timna Renewable Energy Park, and the AORA Solar Thermal Module in Kibbutz Sammar will be the world’s first commercial hybrid solar gas-turbine power plant.

Israeli ventures connected to renewable energy projects are sure to catch increasing venture capital attention as the region picks up speed.