Startup Nation Israel meets NRW – How can AI improve sustainability?
Startup Nation Israel meets NRW is an international joint event, organized by NRW.Global Business and KI.NRW focussing on artificial intelligence and sustainability. The event brings together notable speakers from NRW and Israel to discuss the future of AI in sustainability in both regions. Do not miss what scientists, researchers and venture capitalists have to say on the topic and enjoy three pitches from startups already knee deep in the field.
March 7th, 2022, 14.00 CET | 15.00 IST
- Opening speech by Prof. Katharina Morik, Technical University of Dortmund
- A panel of experts including Avi Luvchik (Noah Capital), Prof. Katharina Morik (Technical University Dortmund) and Christina Süß (Phoenix Contact)
- Three Pitches by Israeli startups, Matan Rahav (CropX), Gilad Fisher (Addionics) and David Kat (Wasteless)
- Moderation by Christian Temath (KI.NRW)
On the 7th of March the Startup Nation Israel will meet NRW in an international joint event, organized by NRW.Global Business and KI.NRW focussing on artificial intelligence and sustainability. The event aims to bring together interested stakeholders from the research- and business world to discuss the impact AI can have on sustainability and how it can assist us in optimizing our resources for the future. Sustainability has become more and more important, as we move to protect our ecosystem and our resources for the next generations. AI has the potential to accelerate these efforts and help us solve a multitude of current and future problems. It can do so through a myriad of methods such as error reduction, increased efficiency, and diminished waste of raw materials.
These methods manifest themselves into many ways, in which AI can help us in becoming more sustainable and in using our resources more efficiently. One way could be by helping us reduce waste and energy use in manufacturing, through robotics. Another way could be through helping us manage the demand and supply of renewable energy by using deep predictive capabilities and intelligent grid systems.
Together with well-known speakers from companies, research institutions and a venture capital, we hope to be able to provide an overview of the newest advancements and discoveries in AI, as well as on their impact on the future of sustainability. The event will feature welcome and keynote speeches, a panel of remarkable experts, as well as three pitches by Israeli startups working in the field of resource optimization through AI.
We are very much looking forward to you joining us at the event! The event will be free of charge and takes place online, from 14.00 – 15.00 (CET) | 15.00 – 16.00 (IST).
Keynote
Prof. Dr. Katharina Morik, University of Dortmund
While AI is one of the most discussed topics in politics and business, organizations have also shifted their focus towards the implementation of sustainability as the whole world moves to protect our ecosystem and resources. AI is seen as a way to support the goal of sustainable development, while still assuring economic growth. Prof. Dr. Katharina Morik will give a brief introduction to this topic in her keynote speech.
Panel
Prof. Dr. Katharina Morik, University of Dortmund
Prof. Dr Katharina Morik established the Chair of Artificial Intelligence at the Technical University of Dortmund in 1991. Since 2011, she leads the CRC 876, which investigates machine learning under resource constraints in 12 projects. She heads the Rhine-Ruhr Competence Centre for Machine Learning together with Prof. Wrobel and is a leader of AG 1 „Technologische Wegbereiter” of the Learning Systems Platform. She is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, and a Fellow of the German Informatics Society.
Avi Luvchik, Noah Capital
Well, my name is Avi Luvchik (PhD). I am the co founder and general manager of Noah Capital a VC that focused on Climate-tech at early stage, the fund will invest up to $3M per company. As for myself I have a PhD in physics from Imperial College London. Previously I worked a VP business development at Capital Nature. Before that I worked in Intel as Environmental Engineer and Head of sustainability in Israel.
Christina Süß, Phoenix Contact
Christina Süß has been working in facility management at PHOENIX CONTACT Electronics since 2006. Together with her team, she is responsible for the commercial and supply engineering part of facility management. With these two linked areas, facility management becomes more economical and efficient, as the impact of both areas directly affect each other.
Start-up Pitches
Matan Rahav, CropX
CropX is an agricultural analytics company that addresses the need to grow more with less in order to feed the world’s rising population. The company specializes in developing solutions for farms and the agricultural decision-making process. CropX combines above-ground data sets with real-time soil data measured by proprietary, in-house-developed soil sensors that transmit the data to a cloud-based platform to be integrated with imaging, weather data, topography and soil texture maps, crop models, and many other data sets. The data is then analyzed by AI-based algorithms to provide insights and automations via the CropX app.
Matan joined CropX in 2018 as the Director of Business Development. Prior to joining CropX, Matan worked for the Israel Innovation Authority (the governmental funding agency for R&D) where he had provided consultancy services to the Israeli innovation ecosystem. Before that, Matan spent several years researching the effect of treated wastewater irrigation on soil properties and the spatial distribution of water in the soil, during which he had experimented using many different soil sensing technologies, and published several scientific papers on the subject. Matan holds a M.Sc in Soil and Water Sciences from the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Gilad Fisher, Addionics
Addionics is a start-up company focused on innovating the architecture of batteries on a microscopic level. Addionics‘ rapid, stable method of fabricating metals allows the structure of traditional batteries to be replaced with the company’s 3D solution. The company’s core IP for developing the smart 3D structures is augmented with an AI-based structure optimization algorithm that can predict and determine the best structure for a given application.
Gilad Fisher is the Director of Marketing at Addionics. He is a Business & Marketing Specialist who excels in providing end-to-end solutions for strategic challenges. He analyzed, built, and executed many go-to-market and expansion strategies in several industries. His prior experiences include working as CMO at DAV and as Product Marketing Director at Colu.
David Kat, Wasteless
Wasteless allows supermarkets to price products based on expiration dates with the aim of providing a sustainable shopping experience with less waste, while increasing margins and revenues. The company’s proprietary AI solution tracks product rotation and waste risk to deliver an optimal markdown in case it’s needed. Customers can then choose different expiration dates with different discounts, making sustainable shopping options while saving money.
David Kat (Amsterdam, 1971) was the on-line publisher and business developer for various VNU (now AC Nielsen) enterprises in the Netherlands, London and Paris. He’s a business developer, entrepreneur and active investor, since 2004. He has worked with companies including Mobileye, X-Sight Sys, Magink and AgentVI to bring innovation to incumbent industries. A father of two daughters, he’s energized by making this world a better place. His favorite channels of achieving that are business, food and the arts.
Moderation
Dr. Christian Temath, KI.NRW
Dr. Christian Temath has been acting as managing director of the KI.NRW competence platform since September 2020 and is working at Fraunhofer IAIS in Sankt Augustin with his team to establish the „AI made in NRW“ brand and strengthen the technological sovereignty of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). He has many years of experience in management consulting in the field of technology as well as in the practical application of AI technologies at an international hotel platform.
Partner:
