Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has announced that it will invest $100 million over the next five years in the Catalyst program of Breakthrough Energy, a non-profit group founded by Bill Gates. ArcelorMittal’s investment will be made through its XCarb™ innovation fund which was launched earlier this year.
Breakthrough Energy is committed to scaling the technologies the world needs to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Catalyst was launched earlier this year and is a new model for how companies and governments can finance, produce, and ensure widespread adoption of next-generation clean technologies. The program will initially focus on four decarbonization technologies: direct air capture, green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal plans to invest in companies developing technologies with the potential to support and accelerate the transition to zero-carbon emissions steelmaking. To date, the company has invested $10 million in Heliogen, a renewable energy company which focuses on unlocking the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels, and $25 million in Form Energy, which is working on the development of its energy storage technology.