Outside Israel's first ever fuel choices summit in Tel Aviv, earlier this month, delegates zipped around Habima Square on a futuristic-looking Muv-e, a portable, lightweight, electric scooter designed to travel at up to 25mph.

Weighing in at 30lbs, it was one of a dozen or so sustainable transport options being exhibited at the summit on the 12 to 13 November as part of the Israeli government's fuel choices initiative.

There were spaceship-like, solar-powered overhead transport pods for cities, cars running on a battery powered by fresh air from a company called Phinergy, and a detachable electric battery which can be fixed to any bicycle from a venture named Cycli. The battery is expected to be on the market next year for about $300.

The Muv-e creation can be folded and wheeled on to public transport and is also due on the market next year for around $2,000 to $3,000, with a battery radius of roughly 7 miles. Also, on show was BeemCar, a proposed alternative to light rail, run on solar panels and designed to travel overhead in busy cities. It would offer 67% energy savings over an urban bus, say its creators.

The Israeli government is serious about becoming fuel independent as soon as possible, with a focus on ensuring 60% of energy in transport comes from the renewables sector by 2025. As part of the government's fuel choices initiative, launched in 2010, several sustainable energy technology pilots are being supported with a mixture of government and venture capital investment.

Israel has become known for its tech start ups, even if the best ones are often bought in their infancy by US companies. In August, the Boston Globe said the start up scene in Tel Aviv was second only to Silicon Valley. And, in March, Apple announced it would be opening its third Israeli-based R&D centre, in Ra'anana, a Tel Aviv suburb.

So, what is creating such a throng of activity in Israel? "There is a strong entrepreneurial vibe here," says Joanna Landau, founder of Kinetis, an organisation which sets about promoting Israel as somewhere which isn't just about conflict. "Our grandparents kind of created Israel as a start up in the forties. They were creating everything from scratch and they left an entrepreneurial legacy. That's the spirit we have here. We're a small place, with eight million people, and we're very close knit. And, a lot of innovations, like those in water recycling and drip irrigation have been a matter of survival."

Mandatory military service often brings people even more closely together, and a number of start ups happen during or after service between groups of people who've met while serving, Landau told me and a group of sustainability writers on a recent tour of the country.

The drive towards energy independence is bringing all sorts of developments in Israel's solar industry too. Since the country's early days solar power has been harnessed and now, 90% of homes have solar panels to heat their water.

Down in the Arava desert there is a cluster of companies making strides in this space, aiming to take the region towards complete energy independence in the next 18 months. One of the most prominent, the Arava Power Company is planning the Middle East's first commercial solar farm, after five years of battling government legislation.

Its pilot site has 16,000 solar panels and generates 9m k/w hours of energy a year. It was set up on the Kibbutz Ketura by Yosef Abramowitz – a Jewish American, named one of the world's six leading green pioneers by CNN last year.

"We're looking at a commercial site which will straddle Israel and Jordan and it's expected to grow to a $2bn entity," said Abramowitz. "Between all the solar programmes in this region, we will hopefully be carbon neutral in 18 months," he says.

Kibbutz sites are a noticeable hotbed of sustainable innovation as you look around Israel. While some struggle with growing costs and more people to support, the most forward-thinking are inputting energy-free air-conditioning systems – Neot Semadar, fully solar-powered cafes and modern housing made from recycled materials – Kibbutz Lotan. And, at Ketura, along with the solar plant, there is Algatech, an algae farm, set up to provide green fuel, food and animal feed, just using sun. It has sold all its expected output two years in advance of production. The venture is part of the government's fuel choices initiative.

"I think it's not a coincidence that we have so many sustainable initiatives here on the Kibbutz," says our guide Yuval Ben Chai. "We are based on co-operation and the Kibbutz is a place that truly gives space for people's ideas and dreams. And, I think it couldn't be done in any other place."

Once Kibbutz culture is added into the mix, it's even clearer to see why start ups have such fertile ground in Israel.

• This article was amended on 29 November to correct the name of the algae farm from UniVerve Biofuel to Algatech and to correct the attribution of the quote "I think it's not a coincidence that we have so many sustainable initiatives here on the Kibbutz," from "Ohad Zuckerman, one of the founders of the algae venture" to "our guide Yuval Ben Chai".