Bill Gates raises over $1 bn for clean energy

NEW YORK. Bill Gates’s nonprofit group Breakthrough Energy announced yesterday that it has raised more than $1 billion (Dh3.67b) from seven major companies, including ArcelorMittal and General Motors, to fund clean energy development.

Early participants in the initiative, dubbed “Catalyst,” also include American Airlines, Bank of America, BlackRock, Boston Consulting Group and Microsoft.

The amount raised so far tops $1 billion and has been given in the form of grants, shares and commitments to acquire the technologies developed, a spokesman for the organization told AFP.

Launched in June, Catalyst has already forged partnerships with the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, and the US Department of Energy.