American Invests $100 Million in Breakthrough Energy Catalyst
Airline is anchor partner in the Bill Gates’ initiative to develop technology necessary to achieve a net zero economy by 2050
American Airlines announced an investment of $100 million in Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a collaborative effort to accelerate the clean energy technologies. As one of the program’s first anchor partners, the air carrier says it is backing up its ambitious climate commitments with concrete action.
Founded in 2015 by Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a model to bring together companies, governments and private philanthropy to accelerate the adoption of critical, next generation clean technologies.
Other participants in the Catalyst include Microsoft, General Motors, Bank of America and the BlackRock Foundation. In addition, the organization is working in partnership with the European Commission to support ventures in clean technologies, in line with the Paris Agreement.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said the carrier has an ambitious vision of achieving a low-carbon future for the airline, but added that “we know our own efforts can only get us so far.”
By working in partnership with Catalyst, Parker explained, the carrier is helping accelerate and scale the industry’s nascent solutions, like sustainable aviation fuels, along with other technologies that will be necessary to reduce emissions from aviation and across the economy, necessary for achieving a net zero (carbon neutral) economy by 2050.
