Finance

Gates Raises $1 Billion as Corporate CEOs Join Race to Scale Clean Tech

  • BlackRock is making a $100 million grant from charitable arm
  • Program will fund large-scale projects in four key industries
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Bill Gates raised more than $1 billion in corporate funding for Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, drawing on BlackRock Inc.’s Larry Fink and Microsoft Corp.’s Satya Nadella to rally support for some of the world’s most demanding clean-energy projects.

BlackRock is making a five-year, $100 million grant from its charitable foundation. Microsoft also is donating $100 million. The other backers -- General Motors Co., Bank of America Corp., American Airlines Group Inc., Boston Consulting Group and ArcelorMittal SA -- are providing a mix of equity capital and so-called offtakes, or purchase agreements tied to the projects.