Mukesh Ambani’s RIL to invest $50 mn in Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd will invest $50 million (about Rs 373 crore) in Bill Gates-owned Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate change solutions company. RIL informed the stock exchanges that the investment will be made in tranches over the next eight to ten years. The oil-telecom-to-retail conglomerate said that it has “entered into a definitive agreement, for making a capital contribution, up to USD 50 million, in Breakthrough Energy Ventures II, LP (BEV), a limited partnership, newly incorporated under the Delaware State Laws, United States of America.”

The investment will mark an alliance between the world’s third richest person Bill Gates and eighth richest person Mukesh Ambani. The capital contribution commitment of $50 million constitutes 5.75 per cent of the size of the fund contemplated at present, according to the regulatory filing. Breakthrough Energy Ventures seeks to find solutions to the climate crisis by flexibly investing to develop breakthrough energy and agriculture technologies.

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BEV was established in 2015 by Bill Gates and a coalition of private investors, aided by their mutual concern about the impacts of accelerating climate change. “BEV will invest the funds raised from the investors to support innovation in clean energy solutions. The results of these efforts would have significant relevance for India and are expected to benefit the entire mankind and also provide good returns to the investors,” RIL said.

In an effort to expedite the energy transition across sectors, BEV has invested in entrepreneurs who are building companies that can have a significant impact on climate change at scale. Some of the investments include Arnergy, a firm working on replacing fossil fuel generators with modularized solar and lithium ion storage systems; Boston Metal, which specializes in efficient metal production with less CO2 emissions; and Source, a company working on making drinking water an unlimited resource around the world.