By Sam Hopkins
Energy and Capital
A few weeks ago I predicted a surge of renewable energy companies from the Persian Gulf. But now, I'm predicting that the first wave of Middle Eastern energy techs will come from Israel instead.
I've already highlighted the disparity between Israeli international patents and those filed by hostile countries in the region. Israel ranks up in the top 15, while Saudi Arabia, the next Middle Eastern country on the list, rounds out the top 45.
Israel 's abundance of NASDAQ listings includes practical companies spun off from military satellite projects and also purely financial ventures hatched by suits, not uniforms. What all of them have in common is a thirst for energy to drive Israel's tech-heavy economy.
2003 statistics on per capita energy use from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show Israeli citizens consumed about 3,200 kilograms of oil equivalent (koe). Neighboring Jordan and its citizens racked up only 1,022 koe per person, while the regional average came in at around 1,630 koe. Now compare those figures to the U.S., where per capita consumption is nearly 8,000 koe.
Israel in 2003 consumed less than the developed country average of 4,623 koe, but far more than the developing-country average of 910.
Since 2003, China's energy consumption growth has outstripped that country's GDP as the economy races on to the 2008 Olympics, and as a result China has inked deals with every country it sees with even a drop of fossil fuel on and under their territory.
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