On Wednesday 26 October, Bill Gates and representatives from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Breakthrough Energy visited the headquarters of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world’s largest international public bank, in Luxembourg. The goal was to further strengthen the cooperation between the EIB and the two organisations, which were founded by Bill Gates, in their respective areas of work.
“Closer cooperation between organisations like ours is crucial to improve global health, strengthen food security, unlock the potential for innovation in clean energy and ensure sustainable human development,” said , president of the EIB.
Accelerating clean energy innovation
During the visit, Breakthrough Energy and the EIB signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation to accelerate the clean energy transition, support cutting-edge research, develop and mobilise investment to commercialise innovation and implement the EU-Catalyst Partnership.
The new agreement follows the EIB’s €50m support for Breakthrough Energy Ventures-Europe to promote the deployment of new fossil fuel substitution technologies and the EIB and European Commission’s joint support for the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst programme announced by Werner Hoyer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at COP 26 in Glasgow last year.
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The agreement will also enable closer cooperation between the Breakthrough Energy Fellows programme and the EIB Institute. The Fellows Programme aims to provide early-stage companies working on innovative scientific solutions with the research and development funding, educational resources and network they need to realise the full potential of their technology.
Target investments to promote sustainable development
The visit also discussed the current collaboration between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the EIB to improve global health and development initiatives such as the fight against malaria and polio.
EIB experts presented the latest support for financial inclusion, focusing on gender equality and agricultural financing through EIB Monde, the recently established development finance arm of the EIB.
Bill Gates also met with prime minister (DP). It was a “constructive and inspiring” meeting, according to Bettel’s Twitter post. “We talked about our common priorities and the current geopolitical situation, climate and energy issues and the role of innovation for a more sustainable future,” he added.