Yafa: The Arab-Israeli Solution for Clean Energy

Yafa Energy, a four-person company, is the first Arab-Israeli firm to win the EU grant [named EUREKA], which was awarded to Mansara by Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, and he hopes it will be the first Arab-run company to put energy into the hands of people who need it most.

After two decades of work with such automotive giants as Opel and GM, developing innovative efficient car engines, Yafa engineers, alongside a German partner, have developed a kind of solar trough, which collects energy from the sun.

A solution for poor industrialized countries

The solar thermal energy is converted directly to steam to drive turbines in factories, or cool industrial processes, while additional energy derived from the system is turned into electric power that can be used by the factory or sold back to the grid.

The hybrid system aims to make a solar thermal system cost-effective, smart and capable of radically changing energy usage by manufacturers of traditional commodities like cement, textiles and edibles. These industries tend to be based in poorer countries, operate in hot climates, and consume more energy than high-tech industries.

“Keep in mind that the energy-needs for industrial processes in these countries are most critical during the day when the sun is shining,” says Manasara, “We are generating steam for industrial applications, and to date there is no electrical system that can compete with this; no photovoltaic panel that can collect enough heat to get to this level. Same with a diesel boiler. There is no equivalent to pure solar thermal.”