Gates will lead the 20-year fund, dubbed Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), which being supported by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, venture capitalists John Doerr and Vinod Khosla, SAP cofounder Hasso Plattner, and several individuals from the energy industry.
The fund will invest in technologies that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least half a gigaton.
It will also invest in technologies with enough scientific evidence and proof of concept which can be advanced meaningfully.
The investment will be made in areas including electricity generation, storage, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture and energy-system efficiency.
Gates said: “I am honored to work along with these investors to build on the powerful foundation of public investment in basic research.
“Our goal is to build companies that will help deliver the next generation of reliable, affordable, and emissions-free energy to the world.”
The new fund is part of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC), which Gates launched in December last year to fund clean energy companies emerging from the initiatives of Mission Innovation.
It will also invest in companies with real potential to attract capital from sources outside of BEV and the BEC.
Image: Bill Gates at a visit to the UK in 2015. Photo: Courtesy of the .
