Is climate tech having a breakthrough moment?
Billionaires come in all shapes and sizes (albeit overwhelmingly one gender). They also have very different ways of how to go about spending their time and fortune.
While Elon Musk has bought himself a personal opinion megaphone platform for him and his “free speech” buddies, Bill Gates, although the focal point of many a conspiracy theory, has rallied a squad to fund climate tech companies.
In fact, to a large extent due to Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, climate-focused venture capital funds have already raised $6.9bn since the beginning of 2024. This is up from $5.2bn for the sector for the entirety of 2023, according to a new report from Venture Capital Journal.
Some of BEV's investments include Sweden’s batterymaker Northvolt, Swiss carbon capture startup Climeworks, energy storage company Skeleton Technologies from Estonia, biodegradable plastics developer Polymateria from the UK, and fusion energy startup CommonWealth Fusion Systems from the US.
However, while Breakthrough Energy keeps throwing money into new ventures, some argue that its initiators (that would be Mr Gates along with among others Richard Branson and Vinod Khosla) do not understand that all the solutions we need already exist, and therefore keep hurtling too much money at “distractions.”
Whether you subscribe to the idea that fusion energy and direct air carbon capture are pie-in-the-sky technologies, there is no denying that climate tech has proven to be the more resilient of investment sectors during the downturn of the past couple of years (with the exception of the recent AI gold rush).
Here's to hoping that despite any potential misfires, Bill and co might be on to at least a couple of real gamechangers. The planet herself will be fine in either case. Life as we know it, however, will not.
Check out more on the recent climate tech funding rally in the story by our reporter Siôn Geschwindt👇
What else we’re writing about
🎙️ In this week's podcast Andrii and Linnea talk about AI to battle "death by overwork," the UK's probe into the Amazon/Anthropic partnership, and NASA's Starliner dilemma. It also features a panel discussion on the state of medtech from this year's TNW Conference.
🚖 Estonia's Bolt is active in over 50 markets, but what lies behind the Uber challenger's expansion strategy?
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💵 In a sign of growing confidence in the continent's tech sector, Balderton Capital this week announced its new $1.3bn fund for early-stage and growth startups in Europe.
✈️ UK startup OXCCU opened a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) demo plant at London Oxford Airport, as it looks to make a dent in emissions from air travel.
🚀 In other aviation-related news, Dawn Aerospace is planning daily flights to outer space from a runway on Earth, and they are closer than you might think.
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