The European Commission and Breakthrough Energy, a network of entities and initiatives founded by Bill Gates to accelerate the commercialisation of technologies that help decarbonisation, announced, on Wednesday 2 June, the launch of a new partnership aimed at mobilising €820 million in new investments between 2022 and 2026 to develop large-scale commercial demonstration projects in “clean technologies”.
“Our partnership will support EU businesses and innovators to reap the benefits of emission-reducing technologies and create the jobs of tomorrow”, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Hailing Europe’s “early and consistent commitment” to climate, Bill Gates said: “Through this partnership, Europe will lay solid ground for a net-zero future in which clean technologies are reliable, available and affordable for all”.
The new partnership is designed to bring together the public and private sectors to invest in a portfolio of EU-based projects, the Commission said in a statement.
It will target technologies with a recognised potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but which are currently too expensive to get to scale and compete with fossil fuel-based incumbent technologies.
Four areas will initially be given priority: green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, direct air capture and long-duration energy storage.
On the funding side, support will take the form of financial instruments and grants. EU funding for the partnership is envisaged from Horizon Europe and the ‘Innovation Fund’ under InvestEU, while the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst programme will mobilise matching private capital and philanthropic funds to finance the selected projects.
The partnership will also be open to national investments from EU Member States through InvestEU or at project level. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)