£400m Partnership Boosts Green Investment
In October, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Bill Gates announced a new partnership between Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and the UK Government to help drive investment into the next generation of ground-breaking clean energy technologies.
The announcement was made at the Global Investment Summit. The partnership will leverage £200 million of private sector investment in the UK to accelerate the development of the cutting-edge climate technologies needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Catalyst – a programme within the larger Breakthrough Energy network – is a new model for public-private sector partnership that brings together businesses, governments, philanthropists and individuals to invest in critical climate technologies. The programme focuses on four key green technology areas: green hydrogen, long-term energy storage, sustainable aviation fuels, and direct air capture.
The UK Government has already committed at least £200 million for the development, demonstration and deployment of UK projects within these areas, as part of the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which was announced in the PM’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution. Investors and businesses partnered with the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst will now match-fund £200 million of that investment.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We will only achieve our ambitious climate goals if we rapidly scale up new technologies in areas like green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels – technologies that seemed impossible just a few years ago.
“Ahead of COP26, this new partnership with Catalyst is a boost to the UK’s vision for a green industrial revolution. It will help to bring innovative technologies to market globally, while building new skills and creating high-quality jobs across the UK.”
Bill Gates, founder of Breakthrough Energy, commented: “Our partnership with the United Kingdom will accelerate the deployment of these critical climate solutions, helping to make them more affordable and accessible.
“In order to achieve net-zero emissions, we need to reduce the costs of clean technologies so they can compete with and replace the high-emitting products we use today – I call this difference in price the Green Premium.
“Working with public and private sector leaders, including the UK, Catalyst will be a key vehicle for reducing Green Premiums, building the clean industries of tomorrow, and creating lasting jobs in communities around the world.”
Over the next ten years, Catalyst aims to work with the Government to support the commercialisation of high-impact decarbonisation technologies and help rapidly drive down the cost of green technologies that are too expensive to scale, and take these to global markets.
The Global Investment Summit, where this announcement was made, brings together global business leaders and crucial partners in achieving net zero to see the latest cutting-edge innovation in green technology.
If you would like to read more stories like this, then please click here
