Breakthrough Energy Ventures | Climate Tech VC Fund

Climate Finance

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 – Climate Action, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 9 – Industry Innovation and Infrastructure

Company Overview

Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) is a venture capital investor that finances early-stage companies developing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is the investment arm of Breakthrough Energy, the platform founded by Bill Gates, which describes itself as a global platform to accelerate clean energy innovation and build the industries of the future. BEV works across five emissions-heavy sectors: electricity, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and buildings, and its portfolio is organized around them.

The firm’s first fund closed at $1 billion in 2016. A second fund, BEV II, secured $1.25 billion in 2021, and a third fund, BEV III, launched in July 2023. BEV also serves as investment manager of the oneworld BEV Fund, a vehicle created with the oneworld airline alliance to back sustainable aviation fuel technologies.

Portfolio companies work on technologies such as batteries, fusion energy, biofuels, geothermal power, cleaner fertilizer and alternative proteins. A recent example is Lydian, a synthetic aviation fuel developer that closed a $43 million Series A round in July 2026 led by BEV, the first announced deployment from the oneworld BEV Fund.

BEV is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, with an office in Boston, and finances companies from early stages through to commercial scale-up.

Why These SDGs Matter

SDG 7 applies because BEV finances technologies across electricity generation, storage and delivery, including geothermal power, fusion and batteries. Its stated aim is to make clean energy affordable and reliable enough to reach global scale.

SDG 9 applies because the fund backs early-stage companies that are building new industrial processes, fuels and energy infrastructure. Its long-horizon capital supports innovation that takes many years to move from laboratory to commercial deployment.

SDG 13 applies because BEV’s central investment test is a technology’s potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions at a scale of hundreds of millions of tonnes a year. Each investment is therefore tied to a quantified emissions outcome, and the portfolio is directed at major emission sources, including aviation fuel, buildings, agriculture and heavy industry.

Products & Services
  • Early-stage venture capital investment in climate technology companies
  • Lead and co-lead financing of equity rounds
  • Flagship funds: BEV I, BEV II and BEV III
  • Investment management of the oneworld BEV Fund for aviation fuels
  • Company-building support alongside capital for portfolio companies
  • Sector-focused investing across electricity, manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and buildings
Business Challenges Solved
  • Financing gaps between laboratory results and commercial demonstration
  • Development timelines too long for short-cycle venture capital
  • High cost and limited supply of sustainable aviation fuel
  • Emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as aviation
  • Commercial building energy waste, addressed through portfolio companies such as 75F
  • Corporate access to early-stage clean energy innovation through fund participation
Approach & Methodology

BEV describes its process in three stages: discover, develop and deploy. In the discover stage, the team surveys the energy and emissions landscape for gaps where technology discovery is needed and where companies can be built from the ground up. In the develop stage, it partners with innovators to turn technical breakthroughs into commercial businesses. In the deploy stage, the guiding test is performance, since clean technologies must be affordable and reliable to reach global scale.

Screening is anchored in a stated impact threshold. Public descriptions of BEV’s criteria refer to technologies with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least half a gigaton a year, about one percent of global emissions. The fund also works to a return horizon that can extend to 20 years, compared with roughly five years for conventional venture funds.

Alongside its flagship funds, BEV uses sector-specific vehicles. In the oneworld BEV Fund, BEV acts as investment manager for capital contributed by airlines and aviation partners. For fuel technologies, its stated evaluation lens covers cost competitiveness, compatibility with existing aviation infrastructure and performance that meets the expectations of airlines and passengers.

In practice, BEV takes lead or co-lead positions in financing rounds, as in the 2019 Series A of 75F and the 2026 Series A of Lydian, and remains an investor as portfolio companies move from pilot scale toward commercial demonstration.

Market Position

BEV competes in the climate technology segment of venture capital, financing early-stage companies whose technologies address emissions from electricity, industry, agriculture, transport and buildings. Its primary customers are founders and technology developers seeking equity capital, while its own capital comes from private investors, corporate limited partners and industry consortia.

Its competitive positioning rests on fund scale and time horizon. Its three flagship funds range from more than $839 million to $1.25 billion, and a PitchBook estimate at the time of the BEV III filing placed it as the largest climate fund raised in 2024 to that point. A return horizon of up to 20 years contrasts with the five-year window typical of traditional venture funds, which suits technologies with extended development cycles.

Procurement Considerations
  • Confirm which vehicle applies (BEV I, II, III or the oneworld BEV Fund) before any engagement, since each has its own scope and investor base.
  • Check sector fit against BEV’s five focus sectors and the stage of the company or opportunity.
  • Verify eligibility and access terms for participation, as the funds are private vehicles offered through exempt securities filings.
  • Assess time-horizon alignment: capital commitments can run in tranches over 8 to 10 years, as in the Reliance commitment.
  • Review cross-border regulatory requirements for capital commitments; the Reliance commitment was subject to Reserve Bank of India approval.
  • For sourcing from portfolio companies, request pilot-scale performance data, as many technologies are still at demonstration stage.
  • Confirm governance, reporting and co-investment terms in writing for any strategic fund participation.
  • Verify certifications at portfolio-company level, since these belong to each company rather than to BEV.
Funding, Recognition & Ecosystem
  • Backed by Bill Gates and a coalition of investors through Breakthrough Energy
  • BEV I closed at $1 billion in 2016
  • BEV II secured $1.25 billion in 2021
  • BEV III reported more than $839 million raised in a 2024 securities filing
  • Reliance Industries committed up to $50 million to BEV II in 2020
  • oneworld BEV Fund created with the oneworld alliance and member airlines, with BEV as investment manager
Natnavi Analysis

Breakthrough Energy Ventures matters because it pairs multi-billion-dollar fund capacity with a long return horizon, which allows it to back technologies that need many years to reach commercial scale. Its flagship funds and the airline-backed oneworld vehicle show a consistent pattern: concentrate on emissions-intensive sectors and bring in partners with a direct stake in the outcome, such as Reliance Industries and the oneworld carriers.

The sustainability contribution is structural rather than direct. BEV does not deploy technology itself, so measurable emissions reductions depend on portfolio companies moving from pilot plants and demonstrations to commercial deployment. Lydian, for example, is targeting a commercial demonstration facility in 2028.

Strengths include sector breadth, technical focus and a record of leading and co-leading rounds alongside other investors. Points for readers to weigh include the long timelines involved, which mean outcomes for early bets will take years to verify, and the variation in fund sizes across vintages, from $1.25 billion for BEV II to a reported $839 million-plus for BEV III. NatNavi readers should treat BEV as a capital and company-building partner rather than a technology supplier, and should assess each portfolio company on its own evidence.

Sources & References
Website
Founded: 2016
Company Stage: SME
Headquarters
Kirkland, Washington, United States
Geographic Presence
Breakthrough Energy Ventures is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, with an office in Boston. Its portfolio includes 75F, a building automation company operating from the United States and India, with a team based in Bangalore. Reliance Industries of India is a limited partner in BEV II, and the oneworld BEV Fund draws capital from a global airline alliance and its member airlines.
Solution Type
Investment Manager / Capital Provider, Venture Capital Investor
Sustainability Outcomes
Carbon Reduction, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Adoption, Sustainable Agriculture, Transport Decarbonization
Industries Served
Agriculture & Food, Battery and Energy Storage, Commercial Buildings, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics

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