Energy

American Airlines, Microsoft join a Bill Gates-backed program to boost clean energy

Key Points
  • Several U.S. companies on Monday built on their commitment to clean energy by joining Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy program.
  • The companies involved include American Airlines, General Motors and Microsoft.
  • The initiative aims to boost the development of technologies to achieve the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Lintao Zhang | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Several U.S. companies, including American Airlines, General Motors and Microsoft, on Monday build on their commitment to clean energy by joining billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy program.

The initiative aims to boost the development of technologies to achieve the target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Its catalyst program aims to raise money from governments, philanthropists and companies to make capital investments to bring down the cost of clean technology.

Bank of America, steelmaker ArcelorMittal, Boston Consulting Group and the philanthropic arm of asset manager BlackRock have also joined the program, Breakthrough Energy said on Monday.

American Airlines said in a statement it has invested $100 million. The program will initially focus on four key areas: direct air capture, green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel.

The support from U.S. companies comes against the backdrop of President Joe Biden's plans to accelerate carbon-cutting. Earlier this month, the White House said it was targeting 20% lower aviation emissions by 2030.