Mind the Tech NY
"Since December 2022, we have invested in 12 companies in the refining sector"
Ido Biger, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Delek USA, was speaking at the New York Mind the Tech conference.
Ido Biger
(Tomeriko)
"I want to tell you about one specific success story of ours," said Ido Biger, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Delek USA, at the Calcalist and Bank Leumi Mind the Tech New York conference.
Before diving into the story, Biger said: "I want to start with a question: How many of you attended Calcalist's forecast conference in December 2022? Some of the forecasts focused on technologies that would transform the future of the energy sector. We took these insights seriously, and since then, we have invested in 12 different companies relevant to our field—refining. We are a company that owns multiple facilities, with an annual revenue of $12 billion. In addition to refining, which involves converting crude oil into fuel for vehicles and airplanes, we also operate in gas liquefaction and water desalination. However, refining remains our core business."
Biger continued, "Through our main field of activity, we discovered various gaps and challenges that require innovative solutions. One of the key issues we identified is that each refinery operates as an independent entity—essentially an isolated island responsible for managing its own supply chains, maintenance, and repairs. This complexity led us to seek solutions, and we found one in an Israeli company called Percepto."
Founded in 2014, Percepto develops autonomous drones that monitor industrial sites, including power plants, mines, chemical facilities, and refineries, to detect safety and maintenance issues. These drones autonomously take off, patrol along predetermined routes, and return to recharge—without requiring a human operator on-site.
Designed to function at night and in challenging weather conditions such as rain and fog, the system analyzes data collected from the drones alongside additional sensor inputs. It then generates insights, including trend analysis, anomaly detection, and risk identification. For example, the system identified a methane gas leak within hours—a leak that would have been impossible to detect using traditional methods. Left undiscovered, it could have caused significant damage over several months. The result: millions of dollars in savings, reduced risk to employees, and the prevention of severe environmental damage.
"Thanks to our collaboration with Percepto, in which we also invested, we have been able to supervise and execute 70 refinery tasks remotely from our central offices. The teams on the ground operated based on real-time insights provided by the drones. Just a few weeks ago, the energy giant Chevron signed a deal with Percepto. We are incredibly proud to have helped promote an Israeli company that delivers high added value and solves real challenges in our industry."
Watch his full remarks in the video above.
