Breakthrough Energy, a U.S. nonprofit founded by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, will partner with Japan's government to support decarbonization research beginning in fiscal 2026, with a focus on moving homegrown technologies from labs to market.
Gates-Founded NPO Expands To Boost Japan's Clean-Tech Commercialization
The organization will work with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and offer subsidies and other backing in fields where Japan has strengths, notably biomass and hydrogen, to speed commercialization, states a fresh Nikkei report.
The nonprofit's Japan program, its next overseas expansion after launching a Southeast Asia hub in Singapore in 2024, aims to bridge research and deployment through university ventures and business-model advice, while opening pathways for Japanese innovations to enter the U.S. market.
METI plans to finance parts of the collaboration via Green Transformation (GX) transition bonds, a sovereign program designed to catalyze private capital for the energy shift.
Gates’ Push To Improve Global Climate Tech Adoption
Gates created Breakthrough Energy in 2015 to accelerate climate solutions through a network that includes an affiliated nonprofit focused on early research and company building, alongside investment vehicles that back scaling companies. The investment firm has since been supported by Amazon.com, Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma and has raised over $3.5 billion in committed capital, investing in more than 110 companies.
The venture has also invested $107 million in Sweden's Heart Aerospace to push its ES-30 hybrid-electric airplane toward commercial service. It also backs efforts to extract lithium from Utah's Great Salt Lake, aiming to secure a critical material for electric-vehicle batteries.
Japan Plans To Transform Research Into Revenue
Nikkei notes that the Japan project, slated to start in April 2026, would cover technologies such as biotechnology, hydrogen, carbon dioxide capture and low-carbon steelmaking, complementing existing METI subsidy programs.
The push comes as Japan strives to convert world-class research into globally competitive companies. While policymakers have boosted "GX" financing, Japan has often lagged in commercialization compared with the U.S., industry analysts note.
Photo Courtesy: Alexandros Michailidis on Shutterstock.com
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