An innovation center for sustainable technological solutions to climate change in urban landscapes is coming to New York City’s SoHo neighborhood through a partnership among Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), Urban-X by Mini and the City of New York.

The International ClimateTech Center, to be located next to the International Cyber Center at Margalit Startup City, will take a new approach to climate tech, joining mainstream technologies with cyber, fintech, foodtech and agtech in the quest to tackle the climate crisis in the most innovative manner possible.

By focusing on cities, which are responsible for three-quarters of the globe’s carbon dioxide emissions, this partnership aims to identify, support, and scale high-growth solutions that can help achieve global energy and environmental goals.

Erel Margalit, founder and chairman of JVP and Margalit Startup City, said “the only way to face the global challenge of climate change is to bring major areas of technology together to join forces to create a new firewall to protect the sustainability of cities. If we do not find the right solutions to ensure the protection of our basic resources – air, water, and energy – we may lose the battle for our planet – and time is running out.”

More than 250 companies and startups from around the world have applied to join the initiative. The companies accepted to the program will receive hands-on guidance with customer discovery and engagement, product development, talent acquisition, and brand and network-building.

Five companies selected by JVP and URBAN-X by MINI to enter the exclusive program are developing rooftop farms on commercial buildings; software that provides reliable transit in underserved areas; environmentally friendly air conditioning and refrigeration; heat exchangers for underground buildings that provide a renewable source of energy; and heating and cooling technology for personalized comfort.

Two Israeli companies from the JVP portfolio will present their innovations: CoPilot’s user engagement platform enabling brands to solve smart product setup challenges in real-time; and Greeneye’s farming system for the precise application of herbicides.

In addition, three Israeli JVP growth stage portfolio companies will collaborate with MINI and the program’s participants to leverage the solutions and the products: ThetaRay (enabling the unhampered flow of clean money globally); Chain Reaction (introducing renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency in cryptocurrency mining; and Morphisec (cybersecurity solutions that can drastically decrease carbon footprint).

The new International ClimateTech Center is the second phase of the International Cyber Center that was launched by JVP and Erel Margalit in February 2020 in partnership with the City of New York, Columbia University, Cornell, CUNY, NYU and the EDC.

International Climate Tech Center will benefit from the innovative work being done at other Margalit StartupCity locations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the Galilee, Haifa and Beersheva.