144. Bill Gates and Energy (2/2) – the Investments / Breakthrough Energy Ventures

144. Bill Gates and Energy (2/2) – the Investments / Breakthrough Energy Ventures

In episode 143, Gerard, Laurent and Michael have discussed the philosophy of Bill Gates when it comes to the Energy Transition, and the root causes of his flawed thesis. Let see now if this transpires in his main investment vehicle, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV).

Michael Barnard is quite blunt: “To be clear, Gates is still highly resistant to the reality that we have almost all of the solutions we require, and that Breakthrough Energy Ventures is mostly invested in distractions.”

As we are about to celebrate the 10th anniversary of BEV, we dive into its successes and failures. And it is a complex picture. BEV has invested in more than 100 companies which is a feat in itself. For a 3.5bnUSD portfolio, that’s an average of 40mUSD/ticket.

When you dig into the portfolio, you will get the Good, with promising ventures (such as Antora, Rondo, Boston Metals, Brimstone, TS Conductor, Fervo, Natel, Pachama, Kobold), the bad with ginormous boondoggles (nuclear, carbon, Hydrogen planes, LDES…), and the Ugly, when BEV (but they are not alone) manage to offload failed ventures via SPACs (Heliogen, QuantumScape, ESS) or Public Money (Carbon Engineering).

So, Breakthrough or Break down? Glass half full or half empty? A lot of Silicon Valley billionaires have emulated BEV, with absurd amount of money chasing impossible or totally uneconomic ventures. To name a few, Sam Altman, Khosla Ventures, Patrick Collinson (CEO Stripe) Bezos, Benioff. So, Bill is definitely not alone.

And BEV, with a string of smart choices, is probably the least bad, or best of them all.

Michael Barnard unleashed in Cleantechnica https://cleantechnica.com/2024/07/04/breakthrough-energy-ventures-has-bad-investment-theses-therefore-bad-investments/

Episoder(180)

141. Texas, California: From Renewable Energy developer to IPP - Jul24

141. Texas, California: From Renewable Energy developer to IPP - Jul24

Texas and California have witnessed a crazy growth in Solar and Batteries in recent years. In 2024 California has 24GW of Solar and 9GW of batteries on its grid; Texas has grown even faster with 31GW ...

15 Jul 202429min

140. SolarPower Europe introduces the "Flexibility Revolution"

140. SolarPower Europe introduces the "Flexibility Revolution"

After a crazy Intersolar in Munich which welcomed more than 120,000 visitors, the pace of Solar deployment in Europe is going exponentially.Gerard and Laurent bring in Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of So...

8 Jul 202411min

139. The ESG label is outdated. What now? - Jul24

139. The ESG label is outdated. What now? - Jul24

Glencore’s CEO Gary Nagle has once described ESG as “some person in the basement in office number 27 engaged in a box-ticking exercise.” And a lot of fossil fuel companies – while being less explicit ...

1 Jul 202431min

138. The Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy

138. The Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy

We bring in Nick Wayth, CEO of Energy Institute (EI), for the release of the 73rd Edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy. The Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy™ analyses d...

24 Jun 202415min

137. Subsea interconnectors: new horizons - Jun24

137. Subsea interconnectors: new horizons - Jun24

UK is at the nexus of the subsea interconnector’s new economy. Great Britain is connected to Continental Europe by 8 interconnectors representing up to 15% of its power consumption.Subsea cables are n...

17 Jun 202427min

136. Special Eurelectric with PPC’s CEO Georgios Stassis

136. Special Eurelectric with PPC’s CEO Georgios Stassis

Laurent interviews Georgios Stassis, PPC’S CEO, during Eurelectric Power Summit 24.PPC, the Greek Utility, is a remarkable turnaround story: from a soviet-style dinosaur a few years ago, PPC has becom...

10 Jun 202417min

135. 2024: A pivotal year for the Energy Transition in China - Jun24

135. 2024: A pivotal year for the Energy Transition in China - Jun24

In April, we did Ep129 Minutes about China and announced the interview with a real expert. Here it is. With David Fishman, an American based in Shanghai, we dig deep into China’s Energy Transition. We...

3 Jun 202430min

134. EcoSummit Preview

134. EcoSummit Preview

Last week, Laurent was in Athens for the spectacular Eurelectric Summit (we will talk more about it in 2 weeks’ time, with a special Episode) meanwhile, we bring in our friend Jan-Michael Hess, organi...

27 Mai 20248min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
pengepodden-2
finansredaksjonen
pengesnakk
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
utbytte
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
liberal-halvtime
okonomiamatorene
rss-politisk-preik
rss-markedspuls-2
lederpodden
rss-sunn-okonomi