(Protocol) Breakthrough Energy has emerged as one of the most prominent climate venture capital and policy shops in the U.S. That’s perhaps unsurprising given it’s the brainchild of Bill Gates, a guy you’ve probably heard of.
Gates himself put a lot of the thinking behind Breakthrough Energy in his 2021 book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” including how the various parts of the organization weigh what to invest in, how to scale up innovation and how to lower what the group calls a “green premium.” (The latter is a term to describe why some climate-friendly options cost more than their dirty counterparts and reflects how our current economy basically pretends climate change doesn’t exist.) That book — and Breakthrough Energy in general — became a trendsetter in terms of defining what climate technology and startups other VC firms could invest in and how to shape policies that can spur innovation.
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