Helmsley Trust Grants $6.6M to Launch New Lab at Bar-Ilan University

The New York-based Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has funded a $6.6 million grant to launch a research lab complex to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly battery storage devices and fuel cells at Israel's Bar-Ilan University.

More than NIS 30 million ($8.3 million) in investments supported the construction of the new complex, which includes the only moisture-controlled “dry room” of its kind on an academic campus in Israel. The complex includes laboratories of the National Energy Storage Institute, the Helmsley Charitable Trust Prototype Laboratory, and laboratories of NetZero Technology Ventures.

“Israel is a powerhouse of fuel cell and battery technologies, and this project brings together top researchers from academia and industry to collaborate and develop clean energy storage solutions that can be successfully commercialized,” said Sandor Frankel, a Trustee of the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. “Helmsley is committed to supporting advanced climate technologies that can help create a greener future for Israel and the world.”

The facility brings together energy researchers and partners from academia and industry in state-of-the-art laboratories for the development of prototypes of clean energy storage devices capable of being scaled up for commercial production. Led by Bar-Ilan’s energy researchers, the collaboration with industry partners will facilitate the development, safety testing, and scalability needed to bring advanced energy storage products to market.

The new complex is expected to play a central role in promoting the Israeli innovation ecosystem for advanced climate technologies, with an emphasis on batteries using lithium as well as alternative materials such as magnesium, sodium, and zinc ions, hydrogen fuel cells, solutions for capturing carbon dioxide, and more. The research will advance the commercialization of clean energy storage projects, leading to a greener future in Israel and beyond.

"As an energy researcher and entrepreneur, the establishment of the energy and climate prototype laboratories at Bar-Ilan University is a personal mission for me, as well as the order of the day for Israel and the world," says Bar-Ilan University President, Prof. Arie Zaban.

"We need deep-tech-based technology solutions to achieve our ambitious goals and secure the future of the planet. With the opening of the laboratory complex, Bar-Ilan University is strengthening its role as a central home for the deep-tech ecosystem in Israel, which includes Bar-Ilan University's Center for Energy and Sustainability and a new energy studies building slated to be built in the coming years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Helmsley Charitable Trust and all the other partners for their involvement in this unique and important research project.”