The Breakthrough Energy Fellows program is designed to tackle early-stage barriers to climate technology innovation, accelerating discovery and increasing the number of technologies working toward commercialization.

Innovator Fellowship: The flagship program, the Innovator Fellowship, is designed to accelerate the development of promising early-stage climate technologies. The Fellowship is a full-time, one-year commitment for innovators committed to commercializing their climate technology. Typically, Innovator projects have raised less than $2M in dilutive funding and must be legally incorporated prior to program start date of September 2027.

The Innovator Fellowship is intended for very early-stage hard-tech climate companies that need technical de-risking and commercialization support.

At the time of application, successful applicants typically meet the following criteria:

• Technology readiness level 1-4
• Demonstrate the potential to reduce or capture greenhouse gas emissions, at scale, by 500 million tons per year
• Typically, have raised less than $2M in dilutive funding (not including grant funding)
• Legally incorporated by the start of the program in September 2027

The Breakthrough Energy Fellows program will provide Fellows with funding to support research and development costs such as lab space, equipment, supplies, staff, and more. Innovator Fellow projects typically receive up to $500,000 in catalytic investment via SAFE. Explorers receive between $50,000-$150,000.

Learn more and apply here. Concept papers are being accepted until 2 November 2027 for the Innovator Fellowship.