Welcome to the Breakthrough Energy Fellows application! To begin, please select register or login in the upper right corner.  

If you need to change your Program Eligibility at any time, please click your name in the upper right corner, click My Account, and select Eligibility from the left bar. This will allow you to select what opportunities appear on your Programs page. 

The Breakthrough Energy Fellows program supports the best and brightest innovators working to develop, scale, and commercialize technologies that have the potential to reduce carbon emissions by at least 500 million tons per year by 2050.

Innovators with game-changing early-stage climate solutions need access to a unique set of resources to turn those innovations into commercially viable solutions. As part of our end-to-end approach to accelerating innovation, BE has established the Breakthrough Energy Fellows (BE Fellows) program to support the world’s best and brightest innovators as they develop new technologies that significantly reduce carbon emissions. 

Our first two cohorts of Fellows are working on innovations within cement, steel, hydrogen, electrofuels, food and agriculture, long duration (seasonal) energy storage, carbon dioxide capture, storage, and sequestration, offshore wind, solar, advanced materials, and efficient building technologies. This year, we are looking for new innovations within those sectors as well as other hard to decarbonize sectors.

The program is designed to ensure early-stage entrepreneurs working on groundbreaking scientific solutions have the R&D funding, educational resources, and network access they need to realize the full potential of their work and begin to chart a path toward commercialization. 

For more information please visit our homepage.

We are currently calling for Cohort 3 applications for Breakthrough Energy Innovator Fellows, Business Fellows, and Explorer Grants. 

Application review and interview processes will occur through June 2023, with the Fellowship beginning September 2023.

Innovator Fellowship (Full-Time)

Innovator Fellows are world-leading scientists and engineers who enter the program with a critical climate technology to commercialize. They commit full-time, without additional employment, to the entire two-year duration of the program, beginning in September 2023.

What the Breakthrough Energy Innovator Fellowship Provides:

  • Substantial non-dilutive funding (roughly $500,000 to $3,000,000 per project) to support research and development costs, such as lab space, office space, equipment, supplies, technical consultants, staff and more to achieve pre-determined milestones
  • Freedom to work anywhere within the regions where we operate
  • A curriculum  of intensive entrepreneurial training, mentorship, and networking opportunities
  • Access to a robust network of industry partners to develop, validate, and demonstrate their technology as well as access to Breakthrough Energy’s ecosystem of mentors, policy experts, investors, technologists, and government entities

Business Fellowship (Full-Time)

Business Fellows are entrepreneurial professionals who complement Innovator Fellows’ skills, helping to accelerate their technology’s path to market. Business Fellows join Innovator Fellows for two years full-time in developing go-to-market strategies, customer discovery, and an enormous array of vital projects progressing Innovator Fellows’ technologies to commercialization.

What the Breakthrough Energy Business Fellowship Provides:

  • A two-year, industry-competitive living stipend;
  • Freedom to work anywhere within the regions in which Breakthrough Energy operates;
  • Programming that offers access to industry experts and insights from leading organizations across many sectors of the industrial decarbonization value chain;
  • Professional development support through 1:1 leadership coaching, management programming, and the opportunity to mentor early-stage entrepreneurs on their commercialization journeys;
  • Opportunity to take an active role in developing the commercial pathway for several early-stage climate technologies; and
  • Access to a robust network of industry partners to advance their skills and networks, as well as access to Breakthrough Energy’s ecosystem of mentors, policy experts, investors, technologists, and government entities.

Explorer Grant (Part-Time)

Explorer Grantees are individuals with early-stage technologies who may not be ready to commit full-time to a Fellowship program. Explorer Grants support research projects that are often being conducted by a university lab or research entity but require further technical exploration before they would be ready to join the full-time Fellowship. These 12-month, one-time grant awards may become eligible for a full-time Fellowship if the technology advances during the grant period.

What Explorer Grants Provide:

  • Approximately $250,000 to $500,000 in research and development funding for lab space, office space, equipment, supplies, technical consultants, and staff to achieve pre-determined milestones
  • Freedom to work anywhere within the regions where we operate
  • Ability to remain employed at your current organization
  • Access to the Breakthrough Energy network of mentors, policy experts, investors, technologists, and governmental entities
  • Invitations to attend select Breakthrough Energy events
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