By Noam Zakai

The notion that Israel can become a dominant player in the  clean tech sector is recently heard from various sources.

Israel has proven that size doesn’t matter – as it is apparent in the impact, size and success of its Internet and telecom industry. This success is derived from factors such as scientific infrastructure, innovative local market, and human network,  all important for creation of an innovation system.

Does Israel has the same success factors in the Cleantech field?

I’ve compared the contributing factors to Israeli telecom success and similar factors in the cleantech industry in the table below. Though such a comparison is biased (in telecom we are analyzing something that already happened while the cleantech and its success factors are still in early stages), it can give some ideas on the the future of the cleantech industry:

Bridging the gaps will be a major challenge for the Israeli cleantech industry. However  and there are some signs that this can be achieved:

• Israel’s #1 citizen, Shimon Peres, has made cleantech the mission of his term
• Political parties are reorganizing political agenda around the matter.
• Israeli VC community is searching for new growth engines and increasing its attention to this field.
• Shai Agassi, ex SAP  senior executive is raising significant capital for electric transportation design and manufacturing center in Israel
• Dedicated incubators funded by private investors and the government are declaring cleantech as their primary focus
• The global need combined with legacy entrepreneurship signal bright future for the Israeli cleantech

However, the main challenge is to create a widespread legacy of delivering solutions to the marketplace.

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Ormat (ORA), the Israeli geothermal energy company might be in a mid of takeover battle – so it seems from recent headlines. The company, which grown to represent strong management and strategic thinking in the clean tech industry, suffered from a rocky year and a half, when its stock price change its course number of times.

The mother company was founded at 1965, by Lucian and Yehudit Bronicki, group’s CEO and CTO respectively, and kept its family orientation. Started as a technology company, they successfully transitioned, and now own geothermic power plants. The company technology unit, Ormat Technologies, is traded at NYSE since 2004, with a market cap of 1.76B$.

However, last year was not as successful, which led to investor’s discomfort. Things accelerated when Haim Katzman, owner of Gazit Inc, major Israeli real estate development company, said in an interview that the link between ownership and management is not a crucial element, and is separated in many American companies. This statement, clearly aimed at the holdings of the Bronickis (27.8%), fueled the discussion about the company’s future. The fact that after heavy trading, Gazit owned 17.2% of the company gave a strong signal that Mr. Katzman meant business.

In what some will consider a defensive move, The couple recently promoted their son, Yoram Bronicki to group’s president, replacing Yehudit, who remained as the group’s CEO.

Time will tell if the Bronickis lose control of their company. One thing is certain – Ormat is still an emblem of high level strategic thinking, strong execution, and keen understanding of market dynamics.

You can find an excellent Wallstrip episode on this topic here.

Technorati Tags: Ormat, Cleantech, geothermal energy, ormat, takeover, tading, NYSE, Gazit Globe, Bronicki