Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Invests in 21 Energy Startups
Breakthrough Energy has announced investments in 21 startups working on energy technologies, including nuclear fusion, hydrogen and data center efficiency.
Yulduz Salimov2 min read
Breakthrough Energy, the investment fund founded by Bill Gates, has announced investments in 21 startups in the energy technology sector. The companies are developing solutions for energy, agriculture, critical minerals and climate adaptation.
The new group includes projects related to nuclear fusion, robotics, semiconductors and improving energy efficiency in data centers. Breakthrough Energy believes that rising demand for electricity in the coming decades will require new technologies.
Eric Toone, managing partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, noted that the current increase in electricity consumption by data centers is about 10% against a practically stable level of demand over the past 30 years. He said electrification of the economy could lead to a threefold increase in demand for electricity.
Among the new projects is Borealis Fusion, which is working on nuclear fusion using proton-boron fuel. Another startup, StarWarden, is developing heat management technologies for future fusion reactors.
Bedrock Semiconductor, K1 Semiconductor and Vari Flux are working to improve the efficiency of semiconductors and data centers. K1 is developing a new method for processing materials, including gallium nitride and silicon carbide. Senior Director Benjamin Gaddy said the technology could potentially reduce the cost of power electronics by about 50% or more.
The fund is also investing in technologies for agriculture and critical minerals. These include molecular methods for detecting diseases in crops and robotic systems for extracting minerals from the ocean floor with minimal environmental impact.
Several other startups, including AmyHyTech and Ammovolt Energy, are developing ways to use and transport hydrogen with ammonia. Eric Toone called hydrogen a universal energy resource, but noted that existing infrastructure for moving it is insufficient.
The current group also includes companies working on adaptation to a warmer climate. According to Toone, slower-than-expected decarbonization rates are making such technologies increasingly necessary.
Source: techcrunch.com
