Billionaires' club to fund clean energy

They say the Breakthrough Energy Coalition was established to improve the systems of research, clean energy investment, regulation, and subsidies that have so far failed to mobilise investment in “transformative energy solutions” for the future.

Experience indicates that even the most promising ideas face daunting commercialisation challenges and a nearly impassable Valley of Death between promising concept and viable product, which neither government funding nor conventional private investment can bridge

Microsoft founder, Bill Gates

Made up of 25 executives and entrepreneurs from 10 countries, the coalition has pledged to help scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to invent and scale innovative technologies to limit the impact of climate change, and provide affordable and reliable energy to everyone.

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, and Chris Hohn, founder of The Children’s Investment Fund, are the two UK members of the coalition.

“Solving the clean energy problem is an essential part of building a better world,” said Facebook co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg.

“We won’t be able to make meaningful progress on other challenges - like educating or connecting the world - without secure energy and a stable climate. Yet progress towards a sustainable energy system is too slow, and the current system doesn’t encourage the kind of innovation that will get us there faster.”

The Breakthrough Energy Coalition said it would work alongside governments of countries who have demonstrated commitment to increasing their public research pipeline through the Mission Innovation initiative launched this week, of which the UK is a member.

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist, said in the current business environment, the risk-reward balance for early-stage investing in potentially transformative energy systems was unlikely to meet the market tests of traditional angel or venture capital investors.

“Experience indicates that even the most promising ideas face daunting commercialisation challenges and a nearly impassable Valley of Death between promising concept and viable product, which neither government funding nor conventional private investment can bridge.”

He said this collective failure could be addressed, in part, by a dramatically scaled-up public research pipeline, linked to a different kind of private investor with a long-term commitment to new technologies.

“These investors will certainly be motivated partly by the possibility of making big returns over the long-term, but also by the criticality of an energy transition,” he said.