About Breakthrough Energy Foundation
To accelerate clean energy innovation and build the industries of the future, addressing climate change through innovation while supporting affordable, reliable, and clean energy.
Focus Areas
Clean energyClimate changeEnergy innovationEmissions reductionManufacturingElectricityAgricultureTransportationBuildings
Who They Fund
state and local governments / policy implementersclean energy companies and cleantech innovatorsresearch fellows and early‑career researcherslabor and workforce groups (labor‑climate initiatives)
About Breakthrough Energy Foundation
Breakthrough Energy Foundation backs clean energy innovation across a wide set of technologies, with recent grants reaching policy implementers, research fellows, and cleantech developers. One of its largest recent awards went to Rf Catalytic Capital Inc for policy implementation, and the same pattern of large-scale support appears in grants to Multiplier, Rocky Mountain Institute, and Breakthrough Energy Action. The foundation’s portfolio connects policy work with technical development: it funds initiatives tied to carbon management, clean hydrogen hubs, low-carbon fuels, and cleantech R&D, while also supporting labor-climate implementation and business engagement for climate action. That mix suggests a funder that operates across the system, not just at the project level. The recent grants also show repeated support for organizations working on climate policy and industrial decarbonization, alongside direct grants to companies and universities working on early-stage energy technologies. Across the list, the foundation uses six- and seven-figure grants to move work from research and planning into implementation, with awards spanning nonprofit intermediaries, public-interest policy groups, and technical innovators.
What Breakthrough Energy Foundation Funds
In carbon management and industrial decarbonization, the foundation gave $2,825,074 to Great Plains Institute for carbon management and industrial decarbonization. It also supported Natural Resources Defense Council Inc with $2,040,653 for low carbon fuels and industrial decarb, linking industrial policy with emissions reduction in hard-to-abate sectors. Clean hydrogen is another visible theme: Rocky Mountain Institute received $2,130,000 for clean hydrogen hubs, while its later policy work was also funded. The foundation also backs cleantech research and commercialization. Mantel Capture Inc received $2,682,100 for cleantech R&D, and Hgen received $1,844,251 for the same purpose. In policy and systems work, Third Way Institute received $2,079,179 for policy implementation, and Climate Jobs National Resource Center Inc received $5,000,000 for a labor-climate implementation initiative.
How Breakthrough Energy Foundation Gives
Typical grant size is substantial: the 25th percentile is $150,000, the median is $450,000, and the 75th percentile is $867,600. The recent record includes multiple repeat recipients across different years, including Rf Catalytic Capital Inc, Multiplier, Rocky Mountain Institute, Third Way, and Mantel Capture Inc, which points to ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards. Breakthrough Energy Foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. The grant list also shows a mix of policy development, policy implementation, R&D, fellowship support, and institutional support rather than a single grantmaking format.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$71.9M
Total Assets
$75.2M
Total Revenue
$32.5M
Total Expenses
$109.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $150K and $868K, with a median of $450K.
25th Percentile
$150K
Median
$450K
75th Percentile
$868K
Geographic Reach
National25 states funded
About 3% of grants go to recipients in DC.
Intensidad de financiamiento
BajaAlta
Sede
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