Gates secures funding from major companies and donors.
In 2016, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and a technological philanthropist, established Breakthrough Energy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing climate change by researching and developing renewable energy sources. The nonprofit has made significant progress toward the goal of preventing a permanent climate shift. Earlier this year, it launched one of its most ambitious projects known as the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst.
The aim of the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is to support and promote new and promising ideas in renewable energy and climate sustainability. Gates stated, “Half of the technology required to achieve zero emissions either does not exist yet or is too costly for a significant portion of the world to afford. Catalyst aims to change this by offering an effective way to invest in our future of clean technology.”
“By collaborating with a growing network of private and public partners, Catalyst will assess the global energy innovation landscape, including key technologies, leading companies, financial partners, and critical policies. It will then fund projects that can have the most positive impact on our planet.”
Bill Gates has secured over $1 billion from corporations to back clean-energy technology.
Major firms such as BlackRock, GM, Microsoft, and others support the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst initiative pic.twitter.com/y1Gwfhi40F
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) September 20, 2021
However, such a significant initiative requires substantial funding, even beyond Gates’ substantial wealth. Fortunately, Gates has enlisted support from various high-profile companies. Breakthrough Energy recently announced that Gates successfully secured funding from notable companies such as BlackRock, General Motors, American Airlines, Boston Consulting Group, Bank of America, and Microsoft. While the exact amount raised was not disclosed, it is reported to exceed $1 billion.
With this initial funding, Catalyst aims to focus on experimental clean energy projects like direct air capture, green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuel.
