Edeltech

Edeltech Group is one of Israel's leading private energy companies, founded in 1989 by a group of entrepreneurs led by Yosef Edelsburg and his son Uri Edelsburg. The group was established to provide innovative solutions to Israel's electricity sector, which at the time was a state-run monopoly. Edeltech foresaw the liberalization of the sector, the discovery of natural gas, and the growing demand for renewable energy. Over more than three decades, it has played a central role in transforming Israel's electricity sector into an advanced and competitive market. The group provides end-to-end solutions for complex energy projects, covering development, design, financing, construction, and operation. Its operational arm, Edeltech O&M, provides operation and maintenance services to power plants. Edeltech is one of the few companies in Israel with in-house capabilities across all stages of energy project delivery. Its power plants are known for supplying clean electricity with maximum efficiency at competitive prices. Edeltech currently operates five privately owned power plants: Dorad, Ramat Negev, Ashdod Energy, Orot Yosef, and Orot Pnina. It has also announced plans to operate an advanced solar plant. Through its holdings, Edeltech is a partner in facilities responsible for approximately 20% of Israel's electricity production. The group continues to promote renewable energy solutions and pumped energy storage. In December 2024, the Edeltech Group, together with Menora, won a tender to build the new Shorak power plant, a natural gas-fired facility with a capacity of up to 900 MW. The plant will be built and operated for 25 years, after which it will be transferred to state ownership. This win strengthens Edeltech's position in the Israeli energy market. The group remains privately held and is headquartered in Israel.

Edeltech was founded in 1989 by businessman Yosef Edelsburg (1929–2020) and his son Uri Edelsburg. Yosef Edelsburg was an entrepreneur who had established a series of businesses in Israel since the 1950s, in partnership with his brother Yitzhak Edelsburg. He also served as chairman of the Tel Aviv Chamber of Commerce. In its early days, the company was engaged in arms brokerage and trade, based on Uri Edelsburg's experience as an employee of the Israeli Ministry of Defense procurement delegation in the United States in the 1980s. Among other things, it was the Israeli representative of helicopter manufacturer Aérospatiale and light aircraft manufacturer Socata. The company brokered the purchase of 22 light transport aircraft of the Trinidad model, which were operated by the Israeli Air Force under the name "Pashosh" for about ten years, from February 1995 to April 2005. The company also brokered the purchase of Eurocopter AS-565 Panther helicopters for the IDF. Although the helicopters were manufactured by Aérospatiale (later Eurocopter, now Airbus Helicopters), a French company, they were purchased from its US subsidiary, American Eurocopter, so that Israel could use American aid funds requiring purchases from the United States. In 1994, the US government opened an investigation into suspicions that the deal was inflated by about $10 million. Following an FBI investigation, in January 1997, an indictment was filed in a court in Virginia against Edelsburg and two other suspects. Edelsburg chose not to appear for trial in the United States and was declared a fugitive in February 1997. The Ministry of Defense terminated its engagement with Uri Edelsburg and revoked Edeltech's security export permit. In 1994, Edeltech entered the energy sector, establishing a partnership with a Russian company that sought to build a power plant based on oil shale in the Rotem Plain, with a capacity of 300 MW and an investment of about $500 million. The power plant was to be based on technology from the Russian company used to generate electricity from oil shale in Estonia, but the Ministry of Infrastructure and the board of directors of the Israel Electric Corporation rejected the agreement, claiming that the company's owners did not present full transparency regarding the identity of its shareholders. In 2000, Edeltech, in partnership with contractor Uri Dori, founded Dorad Energy Ltd. (the company's name is a combination of the surnames Dori-Edelsburg), with the aim of building a power plant producing electricity from gas, following the discovery of gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. Planning of the plant began in 2002. In January 2003, Minister of Infrastructure Effi Eitam approved the company's electricity production license. Later, contacts began between Dorad and the Ministry of Defense for the supply of electricity at a lower price than the Israel Electric Corporation to IDF bases. In June 2004, an agreement was signed, exempt from tender, according to which Dorad would supply 250 MW per year, for 280 million shekels, starting in 2008. For the construction of the plant, Dorad contracted with the government-owned Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) to build the plant on land held by the company on the Ashkelon coast, in exchange for 30% of the company's shares. Additional shares in Dorad (20% of the company's capital) were sold to the Dutch corporation BARBANT PARK BV. On May 25, 2004, Dorad signed a memorandum of understanding with the Turkish company Zorlu Holdings for the construction and maintenance of the plant at a cost of about $1 billion. The signing ceremony was held in Ankara, with the participation of Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Yosef Paritzky and his Turkish counterpart. Zorlu is a construction company that also owns a wide range of other businesses. In January 2005, Zorlu also became a partner in the ownership of the power plant, replacing the Dutch company that withdrew from the project. At the end of 2006, the final ownership structure of the partners in the project was determined, ahead of the signing of its financing agreement. Dori Energy held 18.75%, Adalcom (a subsidiary of Edeltech) held 18.75%, EAPC held 37.5%, and Zorlu held 25%. The partners were required to provide equity of $140 million, with the remaining financing raised from a consortium of banks and insurance companies. In August 2006, the Dorad group announced the start of construction of the plant, but due to difficulties in signing the financing agreement, construction work was delayed by about three years. In May 2007, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Haifa Chemicals to build a private power plant at the company's plant in the Rotem Plain, with an investment of about $200 million. In July 2006, Ashdod Energy (owned by the Turkish corporation Zorlu, which held 51%, and Edeltech, which held 49%) signed an agreement to build a combined cycle power plant with a capacity of 55 MW, fueled by natural gas, for the Agan Chemicals plant in Ashdod. The plant would supply the electricity and steam needs of the Agan plant and the electricity needs of the Makhteshim-Agan group's plants. In December 2007, Ashdod Energy signed a financing agreement with Bank Leumi for the construction of the plant. The National Infrastructure Committee approved the construction of the plant in March 2008, in an expedited process as "National Infrastructure Plan 32". In January 2009, Ramat Negev Energy signed a financing agreement with Bank Hapoalim to build a power plant on the grounds of the Makhteshim Agan plant in Neot Hovav, at a cost of 750 million shekels, a plant that would produce 120 MW per year, fueled by natural gas, and supply electricity and steam to the plant. In August 2009, it signed an agreement with EMG to purchase natural gas from Egypt for $1.5 billion to operate its four power plants. In January 2016, Edeltech signed an agreement to purchase gas from the Leviathan gas field for $1.3 billion. In the same month, Dori Energy filed a lawsuit against Adalcom and Zorlu, claiming that they conspired with the contractor that built the plant, Woodgroup, to inflate the construction contract amount, while Adalcom and Zorlu received the difference of about $140 million, behind the backs of the two other partners in the power plant, Dori Energy and EAPC. The lawsuit went to arbitration before retired judge Hila Gerstel, but Adalcom and Zorlu sought to disqualify her because she had consulted with a lawyer whose office represents Adalcom regarding the "Case 1270" investigation in which she was a suspect. The disqualification request reached the Supreme Court, which accepted it, and retired judge Yitzhak Inbar was appointed in her place in March 2019. In December 2018, Edeltech signed a memorandum of understanding with the Haifa Chemicals group to build an ammonia production plant at the Haifa Chemicals site in the Rotem Plain. In September 2019, it announced it was withdrawing from the project. In March 2020, Edeltech offered to buy EAPC's share (37.5%) in the Dorad power plant for about 400 million shekels. On December 9, 2021, it was published that a group jointly owned by Edeltech and Shikun & Binui won the tender to purchase the Hagit Mizrach power plant from the Israel Electric Corporation for 1.6 billion shekels, with the transfer of possession at the site on June 3, 2022. In December 2024, the Edeltech Group, together with Menora, won the tender to build the new Shorak power plant, which will operate on natural gas with a capacity of up to 900 MW. The win strengthens Edeltech's position in the Israeli energy market, where it already holds about 20% of the country's electricity production. The plant will be built and operated for 25 years, after which it will be transferred to state ownership. Edeltech's win in the Shorak tender raised questions about the possibility of expanding the Dorad plant, in which Edeltech holds 18.75%, because its holdings may exceed the permitted threshold of 20% of electricity production in Israel.

• 2024

  Edeltech and Menora win tender for new Shorak power plant.

• 2021

  Edeltech and Shikun & Binui win tender for Hagit Mizrach power plant.

• 2016

  Edeltech signs $1.3 billion gas purchase agreement with Leviathan field.

• 2009

  Ramat Negev Energy signs financing agreement; Edeltech signs gas purchase deal with EMG.

• 2007

  Agreement signed with Haifa Chemicals for a private power plant.

• 2006

  Final ownership structure of Dorad determined; construction begins but is delayed.

• 2004

  Dorad signs agreement to supply electricity to IDF bases.

• 2003

  Dorad receives electricity production license.

• 2000

  Dorad Energy founded in partnership with Uri Dori.

• 1994

  Edeltech enters the energy sector with a planned oil shale power plant in the Rotem Plain.

• 1989

  Edeltech founded by Yosef Edelsburg and Uri Edelsburg.

One of Israel's leading private energy groups, providing comprehensive solutions from development to operation of power plants.

• Dorad Power Plant

  Natural gas-fired power plant in which Edeltech holds 18.75%.

• Ramat Negev Power Plant

  120 MW natural gas-fired power plant supplying electricity and steam to Makhteshim Agan.

• Ashdod Energy Power Plant

  55 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant for Agan Chemicals.

• Orot Yosef Power Plant

  Privately owned power plant operated by Edeltech.

• Orot Pnina Power Plant

  Privately owned power plant operated by Edeltech.

• Helicopter purchase affair

• Dorad arbitration dispute

Read more

1. 1Edeltech - Home pageedeltech.co.il
2. 2Edeltech - Aboutedeltech.co.il
3. 3Edeltech - Servicesedeltech.co.il
4. 4Edeltech - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5אדלטק - Wikipedia (Hebrew)he.wikipedia.org