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Breakthrough Energy

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Breakthrough Energy
Company typePrivate
IndustryEnergy
Founded2015; 11 years ago (2015)
FounderBill Gates
Headquarters
Kirkland, Washington
Websitebreakthroughenergy.org

Breakthrough Energy is the umbrella name of several organizations, founded by Bill Gates in 2015, that aim to accelerate innovation in sustainable energy and in other technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has been investing in a variety of startup companies which were attempting to commercialize new concepts such as nuclear fusion, large-capacity batteries to store renewable energy, and microbe-generated biofuels.[1] In 2025, strategy shifted away from public policy towards supporting clean energy technology alone, as the Second Trump administration has been promoting fossil fuels and dissolved programs addressing climate change.

History

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At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2015, Gates announced that a coalition of 28 high net-worth investors from ten countries had committed to the Breakthrough Energy initiative. A complementary initiative of Gates, Mission Innovation, was announced at the same time.[2]

In December 2016, a group of investors collectively worth US$170 billion announced more personal commitment to funding the efforts of a US$1 billion fund "focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation." The fund is named Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund.[3]

In March 2025, Bill Gates dissolved the unit working in Europe and the United States unit working on public policy, because "it was not likely to have a significant effect in Washington", as the Second Trump administration has been promoting fossil fuels and dissolved programs addressing climate change.[4]

Strategy

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At its inception in 2015, Gates explained, "The renewable technologies we have today, like wind and solar, have made a lot of progress and could be one path to a zero-carbon energy future... But given the scale of the challenge, we need to be exploring many different paths."[5] Breakthrough Energy invests primarily in businesses where the risk of failure is high and the timeframe for return on investment is 20 years. Traditional venture capitalists look for a return on investment in five years, which may not be enough for the special challenges of the energy sector.[1]

In 2025, strategy shifted away from public policy towards supporting clean energy companies through the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst program, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.[4]

Members

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The group is led by Bill Gates, who previously announced a personal $2 billion investment, and includes:[6][7][8][9]

Criticism

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There has been criticism that the coalition was announced too early, before crucial details had been confirmed. At launch, a Gates Foundation spokesman confirmed that investment professionals had yet to be appointed, named investors—other than Gates—had not publicly stated their level of investment and a financial structure had not been confirmed.[13]

Notable investments

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Billionaire-Backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures Makes 7 More Investments". www.greentechmedia.com. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  2. ^ "Announcing: "Mission Innovation"". whitehouse.gov. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ Delaney, Kevin (12 December 2016) Bill Gates and investors worth $170 billion are launching a fund to fight climate change through energy innovation Quartz, Quartz Media, Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2019
  4. ^ a b Gelles, David; Schleifer, Theodore (2025-03-12). "Climate Group Funded by Bill Gates Slashes Staff in Major Retreat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  5. ^ Milman, Oliver (30 November 2015). "Zuckerberg, Gates and other tech titans form clean energy investment coalition". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  6. ^ Chhabra, Esha. "Bill Gates Rallies With Tech Leaders To Launch A Multi-Billion Dollar Energy Fund". Forbes. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  7. ^ Lapowsky, Issie. "Tech Billionaires Team Up to Take On Climate Change". Wired. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  8. ^ Bellware, Kim (30 November 2015). "World's Tech Giants Team Up For Mega Investment In Clean Energy". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post Media Group. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  9. ^ Cooper, Anderson (15 February 2021). "Bill Gates: How the World Can Avoid a Climate Disaster". 60 Minutes. CBS News. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  10. ^ "BEV Board and Investors | Breakthrough Energy". breakthroughenergy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  11. ^ Green, Emily (29 November 2015). "UC joins Bill Gates' clean-energy investment initiative". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Mukesh Ambani's RIL to invest $50 mn in Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures". The Financial Express. 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  13. ^ Primack, Dan. "Bill Gates' Clean Energy Plan Isn't Ready for Primetime". Fortune. Time, Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Seattle Startup Aims to Revolutionize Firefighting with AI-powered Drones". www.circuit.press. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  15. ^ Jessop, Simon (July 25, 2023). "Dioxycle raises $17 million to help develop green ethylene". Reuters. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Chant, Tim De (2025-03-25). "Exclusive: Bill Gates-backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems hits key reactor construction milestone". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  17. ^ Hardick, Erin (2025-05-27). "What Fervo's approach says about financing first-of-a-kind energy projects". Latitude Media. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  18. ^ "Making steel with electricity". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  19. ^ "Making steel with electricity". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  20. ^ "Form Energy raises $405M for its 100-hour iron-air batteries". Canary Media. 2024-10-09. Retrieved 2026-02-05.
Bundled references
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