Today is an exciting day for humanity for many reasons. The COP21 talks begin in Paris, with many countries to commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Sadly, though, a growing global population and hunger for energy is going to make living sustainably on our planet very difficult without new technologies that can allow us to deliver energy and other resources to the people that need them.
Alongside the commitments of our international leaders, Bill Gates has announced the formation of a new fund to invest in critical technologies to enable just such energy generation, distribution, and use. Aptly named the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, this group of technologists, investors, philanthropists, and experts will deploy resources and support to early companies and technologies that can address energy generation and storage, transportation, industrial use, agriculture, and energy efficiency. As the coalition describes on its website:
“We are committed to doing our part and filling this capital need by coming together in a new coalition. We will form a network of private capital committed to building a structure that will allow informed decisions to help accelerate the change to the advanced energy future our planet needs. Success requires a partnership of increased government research, with a transparent and workable structure to objectively evaluate those projects, and committed private-sector investors willing to support the innovative ideas that come out of the public research pipeline.”
At Citrine, we believe new technological breakthroughs are the path to a better world in all of these areas, and we happen to believe that materials innovation is one of the key areas. We are fortunate to already have the support of some of the brilliant minds involved in this program, and could not be more excited to see what world changing technologies emerge over the coming years as this coalition and the people it supports do their work.