In September, BE Fellows launched with an inaugural cohort of 17 Innovator and Business Fellows from leading research institutions in North America, Europe, and New Zealand. The Fellows are advancing technologies critical to decarbonizing high-emitting industries, including aviation, shipping, long-haul trucking, agriculture, steel and cement manufacturing, and chemical production. Each technology has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by at least 500 million tons per year by 2050.
The Innovator Fellows are working closely in teams, and with Business Fellows Harshita Mira Venkatesh, Kathleen Baireuther, Michael Pambianchi and Robert Murphy, on a total of eight projects. They have already made excellent progress against aggressive technical milestones focused on:
- Electrofuels with Dioxycle
- Cement with CHEMent and Furno
- Steel with MetPeel
- Hydrogen with Celadyne, EvolOH, and Verne
- Fertilizer with Liquium
The BE Fellows program provides patient capital to support innovators on their path to commercialization, including a stipend for living expenses, funding for technology and product development, access to scientific and business expertise, investors, policy experts, and our world-class network of partners. All Fellows also benefit from a unique curriculum designed by Breakthrough Energy covering a wide range of topics. The 2021 Fellows have already participated in 28 workshops with over 57 hours of curriculum this year.
Through the program, these leaders have also engaged and learned from climate leaders and experts across the Breakthrough Energy network, including founder Bill Gates, John Doerr, QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh, LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren, VP of Strategy and M&A at Plug Power Kevin Kopczynski, and many more.
In just a few short months, the Fellows’ technologies are gaining attention around the world, from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and New Zealand. The Fellows have also received several awards and announced new partnerships in just the last few months. If that wasn’t enough, six BE Fellows were named to Forbes 30 under 30 for 2022: Jimmy Rojas, Corey Staller from Celadyne, Laureen Meroueh, and the Verne team: Ted McKlveen, David Jaramillo, and Bav Roy. Learn more about the Fellows and their projects here.
The second BE Fellows cohort will join the program in September 2022. Applications to provide technical review of cohort 2 candidates are currently being accepted through January 6. In January, the program will begin a rigorous selection process looking for the most promising innovators with projects focused on decarbonizing cement, steel, hydrogen, electrofuels, food and agriculture, long-duration energy storage, carbon dioxide capture, storage, and sequestration as well as general experts in climate technologies.
If you are interested in serving as a technical application reviewer, complete this form to apply. Please direct all questions to information@befellows.org.
