Washington · Public charity
Breakthrough Energy Foundation
Working with our world-class network of innovators, business and industry leaders, and policy experts, we accelerate the innovation of climate technologies at every stage - from discovery to development to deployment.
- $102M
- Granted FY2024(still arriving)
- 149
- Itemized grants FY2024
- 114
- Organizations funded FY2023
- 49%
- First-time grantees FY2023
- Itemized, FY2024
- $72M
- The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
- Median grant, FY2024
- $200,000
- Largest grant, FY2024
- $10,306,054
- Organizations funded a year
- 1 to 114
- FY2021 to FY2023
- States reached, FY2024
- 21
- Total assets, FY2024
- $75M
How open it is to new grantees
In FY2023, 49% of the organizations Breakthrough Energy Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 39% of its grant dollars.
New vs renewed · share of each year
In FY2023, 61% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $28M went to new ones.
RenewedFirst-time
Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant
EnvironmentEducationScience & TechCommunity ImprovementPublic BenefitInternationalOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.
The numbers by year
| Fiscal year | Organizations funded | To those organizations | First-time grantees |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024still arriving | 119 | $70M | 38% |
| FY2023 | 114 | $72M | 49% |
| FY2022 | 81 | $88M | 99% |
| FY2021 | 1 | $175k | n/a |
100% classified
What it funded, over time
Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2024.
Environment$158MScience & Tech$35MInternational$21MEducation$4.4MCivil Rights$4.3MPublic Benefit$2.9MAnimals$2.0MSocial Science$1.3MOther$0
Where its grants go
Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.
Which US states its grants reach
WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
OH
NJ
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
NC
DC
HI
GA
TX
FL
Top grantees
Largest recipients by total granted, FY2021 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rf Catalytic Capital Inc | $19,246,669 | 2 | 6% |
| Multiplier | $11,000,000 | 3 | 8% |
| Rocky Mountain Institute | $9,531,391 | 3 | 3% |
| Climate Jobs National Resource Center Inc | $6,800,000 | 1 | 84% |
| Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development Inc | $6,508,849 | 3 | 28% |
| NREL Foundation | $6,388,950 | 3 | 94% |
| Natural Resources Defense Council Inc | $5,829,815 | 3 | 2% |
| Mantel Capture Inc | $5,005,700 | 3 | n/a |
| Molten Industries Inc | $4,978,447 | 3 | n/a |
| Mars Materials Inc | $4,858,800 | 3 | n/a |
Show all 182 grantees
| Grantee | Total granted | Years | Share of their budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rf Catalytic Capital Inc | $19,246,669 | 2 | 6% |
| Multiplier | $11,000,000 | 3 | 8% |
| Rocky Mountain Institute | $9,531,391 | 3 | 3% |
| Climate Jobs National Resource Center Inc | $6,800,000 | 1 | 84% |
| Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development Inc | $6,508,849 | 3 | 28% |
| NREL Foundation | $6,388,950 | 3 | 94% |
| Natural Resources Defense Council Inc | $5,829,815 | 3 | 2% |
| Mantel Capture Inc | $5,005,700 | 3 | n/a |
| Molten Industries Inc | $4,978,447 | 3 | n/a |
| Mars Materials Inc | $4,858,800 | 3 | n/a |
| Hgen | $4,773,648 | 3 | n/a |
| Queens Carbon Inc | $4,405,865 | 3 | n/a |
| Third Way Institute | $4,052,084 | 2 | 13% |
| Breakthrough Energy Action Inc | $4,021,314 | 1 | 85% |
| Chemfinity | $3,908,800 | 3 | n/a |
| Holocene Climate Corporation | $3,636,717 | 3 | n/a |
| Aikido Technologies Inc | $3,500,850 | 3 | n/a |
| Conduit Tech Inc | $3,154,149 | 3 | n/a |
| Resources for the Future Inc | $3,126,409 | 3 | 12% |
| Clean Air Task Force Inc | $3,099,858 | 2 | 4% |
| The Breakthrough Institute | $3,023,604 | 2 | 28% |
| Takachar | $2,933,879 | 3 | n/a |
| Federation of American Scientists | $2,857,992 | 2 | 12% |
| Efi Foundation | $2,846,625 | 3 | 58% |
| University of Chicago | $2,821,650 | 2 | 0% |
| Unemit | $2,768,783 | 3 | n/a |
| Gencores Inc | $2,749,625 | 3 | n/a |
| Clearpath Inc | $2,686,970 | 3 | 7% |
| Climateworks Foundation | $2,670,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Hertha Metals | $2,637,500 | 2 | n/a |
| Furno Materials | $2,628,449 | 2 | n/a |
| Aluminio Inc | $2,607,000 | 3 | n/a |
| Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Inc | $2,571,920 | 2 | 31% |
| Verne Inc | $2,430,786 | 2 | n/a |
| National Wildlife Federation | $2,399,999 | 3 | 1% |
| World Resources Institute | $2,359,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Renewco2 Inc | $2,326,751 | 2 | n/a |
| Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated | $2,254,995 | 2 | 1% |
| Third Way | $2,055,384 | 1 | 8% |
| Phase Biolabs Inc | $1,891,171 | 3 | n/a |
| The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc | $1,700,000 | 3 | 2% |
| Rhodium Group LLC | $1,680,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Texas A&M University | $1,647,546 | 2 | n/a |
| American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy | $1,565,000 | 3 | 5% |
| Building Transparency | $1,550,000 | 3 | 32% |
| Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum | $1,408,111 | 3 | 10% |
| Ce Buyers Institute | $1,350,000 | 2 | 20% |
| Beneficial Electrification League | $1,340,000 | 2 | 40% |
| Evoloh | $1,234,438 | 2 | n/a |
| The Partnership Project Inc | $1,200,000 | 2 | 3% |
| The Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions | $1,200,000 | 3 | 43% |
| Mission Possible Partnership USA Inc | $1,200,000 | 1 | n/a |
| GridLab Inc | $1,150,000 | 2 | 15% |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | $1,137,340 | 3 | 0% |
| Community Initiatives | $1,125,000 | 3 | 1% |
| Bipartisan Policy Center Inc | $1,017,883 | 3 | 1% |
| Arculus Solutions Inc | $1,000,000 | 2 | n/a |
| 2030 Inc | $1,000,000 | 1 | 35% |
| New Buildings Institute | $995,700 | 3 | 10% |
| Nuclear Innovation Alliance | $950,000 | 3 | 31% |
| New York University | $920,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Climate Leadership Council Inc | $795,000 | 2 | 12% |
| University of California Davis | $701,850 | 1 | n/a |
| Center for Energy Workforce Development | $700,000 | 2 | 15% |
| Good Energy Collective Inc | $660,500 | 3 | 14% |
| National Skills Coalition | $650,000 | 1 | 4% |
| National Association of State Energy Officials | $625,000 | 1 | 14% |
| Silverado Policy Accelerator Inc | $604,250 | 2 | 17% |
| National Audubon Society Inc | $565,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Center for Carbon Removal | $503,557 | 2 | 2% |
| Regents of the University of Colorado | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation Inc | $500,000 | 1 | 17% |
| Calion Technologies | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Rarefied Technologies Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Prospect Growth Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Niskanen Center Inc | $500,000 | 1 | 4% |
| Olokun Minerals Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Gallox Semiconductors Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Step Function LLC | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Arinna Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Csh2 Corp | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Hoofprint Biome Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sustainable Chemicals LLC | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Sinkco Labs Pbc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Loamist Co | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Marathon Fusion Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Electroflow Technologies | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Washington Foundation | $500,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Macrocycle Technologies | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Standard Potential Co | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Espiku Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Novel Farms Inc | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Rockfix | $500,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Chement | $499,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Washington Geologic Survey (WGS) | $490,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Evolved Energy Research LLC | $475,000 | 1 | n/a |
| American Council On Renewable Energy | $450,000 | 2 | 2% |
| League of Conservation Voters Education Fund | $450,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Atlantic Council of the United States Inc | $450,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Industrion Technologies LLC | $425,367 | 2 | n/a |
| Deployus Inc | $425,000 | 2 | 5% |
| Genseed LLC | $412,400 | 3 | n/a |
| Livermore Lab Foundation | $400,169 | 1 | 13% |
| American Center for Life Cycle Assessment Corporation | $400,000 | 1 | 54% |
| Sierra Club Foundation | $400,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy | $375,000 | 1 | 21% |
| Fsg Inc | $365,980 | 2 | 1% |
| The Energy for Growth Hub Inc | $350,000 | 2 | 8% |
| Green Tinted Glasses LLC | $348,700 | 2 | n/a |
| Kathleen Baireuther LLC | $329,033 | 2 | n/a |
| The Scripps Research Institute | $325,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Inc | $314,561 | 1 | 8% |
| Nc State University | $300,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Carbon Removal Institute | $300,000 | 1 | 54% |
| The Ohio Environmental Council | $300,000 | 1 | 9% |
| Gunnadoo Consulting | $285,000 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Texas | $255,029 | 2 | n/a |
| Greentown Collaborative Inc | $255,000 | 3 | 2% |
| National Fisheries Conservation Center | $250,000 | 1 | 26% |
| Evergreen Collaborative | $250,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Aci Center of Excellence for Carbon Neutral Concrete | $250,000 | 1 | 20% |
| Pwernap Energy Inc | $250,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Northwestern University | $250,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Spark Climate Solutions | $248,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Georgia Tech Research Corporation | $245,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) | $235,645 | 1 | n/a |
| Evergreen Climate Innovations | $235,000 | 3 | 3% |
| Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Inc | $230,000 | 2 | 1% |
| Celadyne | $227,688 | 1 | n/a |
| University of Maryland College Park Foundation Inc | $225,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Cornell University | $225,000 | 1 | 0% |
| National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC | $225,000 | 1 | n/a |
| The Trustees of Princeton University | $210,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Fannie and John Hertz Foundation | $200,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Climate Advisers Inc | $200,000 | 1 | n/a |
| American Conservation Coalition Inc | $200,000 | 2 | 3% |
| Health Effects Institute | $200,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Lawrence Technological University | $195,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Community Partners | $195,000 | 3 | 0% |
| Center for Strategic and International Studies | $185,283 | 2 | 0% |
| Elemental Excelerator Inc | $185,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Donald Danforth Plant Science Center | $175,000 | 2 | 0% |
| University of Maryland College Park | $150,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Consensus Building Institute Inc | $150,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Regents of the University of California at Berkeley | $150,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc | $150,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Information Technology and Innovation Foundation | $149,136 | 1 | 2% |
| Asian Pacific Amer InstitCongressional | $130,000 | 2 | 2% |
| Prime Coalition Inc | $125,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative | $125,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Ctgi LLC | $112,000 | 3 | n/a |
| William Marsh Rice University | $110,000 | 2 | 0% |
| Climate Tech Navigators LLC | $100,000 | 1 | n/a |
| BlueGreen Alliance Inc | $100,000 | 1 | 4% |
| Renewable Hydrogen Alliance | $100,000 | 1 | 26% |
| Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance | $100,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Regents of the University of California at San Diego | $100,000 | 1 | n/a |
| American Security Project | $96,029 | 1 | 13% |
| National Academy of Sciences | $79,450 | 1 | 0% |
| Triple Helix Institute for Agriculture Climate and Society Inc | $75,000 | 1 | 18% |
| Direct Air Capture Coalition Inc | $65,000 | 2 | 9% |
| Impossible Labs | $60,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Pillar Point LLC | $60,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Clean Power Institute | $50,000 | 1 | 2% |
| The Milken Institute | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Taxpayers for Common Sense | $50,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Realize Impact | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Research Triangle Institute | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| CalCef Innovations | $50,000 | 1 | 0% |
| The Council on Strategic Risks | $50,000 | 1 | 1% |
| Eventpower | $41,000 | 2 | n/a |
| Angels For Angels | $40,000 | 1 | 2% |
| Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies | $40,000 | 1 | 4% |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | $30,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Geothermal Rising | $30,000 | 1 | 1% |
| SEEC Institute Inc | $25,000 | 1 | 3% |
| Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC | $22,500 | 2 | 0% |
| The Engine Accelerator Inc | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Chitownbio | $20,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Institute of Gas Technology | $12,000 | 1 | 0% |
| Matthew Joseph Myers | $10,000 | 1 | n/a |
| Ideas in Action Inc | $5,000 | 1 | 1% |
Where it is load-bearing
Breakthrough Energy Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 16 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 111 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.
Tap a dot to name the grantee.
How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 111.
Co-funders
Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.
Climateworks FoundationCA48.5× affinity22 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →
Open a dossier: Climateworks Foundation · United States Energy Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · The Energy Foundation · Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated · Climate Imperative Foundation · Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · Multiplier · Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Inc · The Heising-Simons Foundation · Sequoia Climate Foundation
How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.
Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus
How do I get to Breakthrough Energy Foundation?
Find your warmest path to Breakthrough Energy Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.
Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.
About Breakthrough Energy Foundation
- How much does Breakthrough Energy Foundation give?
- Breakthrough Energy Foundation reported 149 itemized grants totaling $71,865,100, out of $101,832,574 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 1 and 114 organizations a year over FY2021 to FY2023.
- What does Breakthrough Energy Foundation fund?
- By grant dollars over FY2021 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (68%), Science & Tech (15%), International (9%).
- Who are Breakthrough Energy Foundation's largest grantees?
- By total granted over FY2021 to FY2024: Rf Catalytic Capital Inc ($19M), Multiplier ($11M), Rocky Mountain Institute ($9.5M).
- Does Breakthrough Energy Foundation fund new organizations?
- In FY2023, 49% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
- Which funders back the same organizations as Breakthrough Energy Foundation?
- Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Climateworks Foundation, United States Energy Foundation, The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
- Where is Breakthrough Energy Foundation based?
- Breakthrough Energy Foundation is based in WA.
Play a game based on Breakthrough Energy’s filings →
More from the funding graph
The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home