Breakthrough Energy has selected its sixth group of early-stage climate technology companies as it prepares for a sharp increase in global electricity demand. The new Fellows work on technologies ranging from fusion and semiconductor efficiency to hydrogen transport, agriculture, critical minerals and climate adaptation.
Eric Toone, managing partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, told TechCrunch that data centers represent about a 10% increase against electricity demand that has remained largely flat for 30 years. However, electrifying more parts of the economy to reduce carbon emissions could eventually triple electricity demand, he said.
Fellows Target Fusion and More Efficient Power Systems
The Breakthrough Energy Fellows program provides early-stage climate technology companies with research and development funding, mentorship and support as they work toward commercialization. This year’s group is the sixth cohort in the program.
Among the selected companies is Borealis Fusion, which is pursuing fusion using proton-boron fuel. The fuel is widely available but requires extremely high temperatures to produce fusion reactions, while fellow startup StarWarden is developing technology to manage heat in future fusion reactors.
Bedrock Semiconductor, K1 Semiconductor and VariFlux are working on semiconductor and data center efficiency. K1 is developing a more efficient way to process materials including gallium nitride and silicon carbide, which acting Fellows director Benjamin Gaddy said could cut the cost of some power electronics by around 50% or more.
The cohort is the first announced since former Fellows program leader Ashley Grosh left to join WovenEarth Ventures as a partner. Senior director Gaddy is serving as acting director while Breakthrough Energy decides on the program’s next leadership arrangement.
Hydrogen, Minerals and Climate Adaptation Join the Cohort
Other Fellows are working on agriculture and critical minerals. Their projects include molecular sensing methods for detecting crop disease and robotic systems from Mithril Minerals designed to collect minerals from the ocean floor while limiting disturbance.
AmHyTech and Ammovolt Energy are developing technologies that use ammonia to help transport and use hydrogen. Toone described hydrogen as highly versatile but said the U.S. has almost no installed infrastructure for transporting it, making ammonia a possible carrier.
Breakthrough Energy is also supporting companies focused on adapting to higher temperatures rather than only reducing emissions. Toone said efforts to cut carbon emissions are taking longer and proving more difficult than previously expected, increasing the need for technologies that help communities and industries adapt to a warmer climate.
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