Bill Gates and EU launch €100m clean energy investment fund

Investments are expected to start in the second half of 2019

A new €100 million (£88m) clean energy investment fund has been launched by a fund led by Bill Gates, the European Commission and European Investment Bank (EIB).

Initially announced in October last year, Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe (BEV-E) will support Europe’s best clean energy entrepreneurs whose solutions can deliver “significant and lasting” reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The fund will invest in five major energy-related sectors where efforts are essential in fighting climate change: electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and buildings.

Investments are expected to start in the second half of 2019 – funding for BEV-E will include a €50 million (£44.2m) contribution from the EIB and €50 million from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investor-led fund committed to supporting cutting-edge companies in the energy sector.

Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission for the Energy Union, said: Business as usual is not an option. We need to boost our investments with more than €500 billion (£441bn) each year to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2050.

“I am pleased that our pilot co-operation with Breakthrough Energy has taken off so fast. This is pioneering work: aligning private and public investment in cutting-edge innovation, to the benefit of the Energy Union and our climate.”

A total of 12 businesses and 162 MPs have pledged their support for the UK’s bid to host the 2020 UN COP26 climate conference.

Technologies for energy users that can help them reduce costs and emissions will be among those on display at The Energy Solutions Show (TESS)  on June 5th at Millennium Point, Birmingham.

If you wish to register as a delegate for free, you can send an e-mail here.

Latest Podcast