Two of Israel's high tech incubators have decided to focus on the development of water technologies. The incubators at Ashkelon located along Israel's southern Mediterranean coast and the Jordan Valley will cooperate with the state owned Mekorot Water Company as part of the initiative. In November Mekorot announced its WaTech initiative to focus on becoming a world leader in the testing and implementing of new water technologies. The company has set up a team of over 100 in-house experts to identify and serve as a testing round for new technologies in the water field. "In the past few months major global companies like 3M, Siemens and General Electric have entered the field through acquisitions and this has already spurred tremendous interest," said Booky Oren, Mekorot board chairman. In mid May the office of the Chief Scientist of the Industry and Trade Ministry decided for the first time to fund water technology projects at two of Israel's 24 incubators for the development of new technologies. Up to now the chief scientist has focused on software, telecommunications, biotech and life sciences and his office has been a major source of funding for Israel's high tech industry.
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