The Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation was established in 1977 by the United States and Israel governments to promote mutually beneficial industrial research and development (R&D). Each BIRD project involves a partnership between a U.S. and an Israeli company with up to 50 percent of the funding being supplied by BIRD and at least 50 percent by the partnership. The source of the funding is an endowment which was provided equally by the two governments. The endowment is $110 million. In addition, since 2009, BIRD receives annual funding from both governments for the BIRD Energy program. Since inception, BIRD has approved more than 900 projects, provided more than $300M in grants (~$500M adjusted to inflation). Successful BIRD projects have