Innovator Fellowship
Up to $500,000 through a SAFE investment agreement, with technical and commercial support, for early-stage climate-technology innovators worldwide who will work full time on their startup.
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The Fellowship funds research and development needed to reach agreed technical milestones. Eligible costs can include lab and office space, equipment, supplies, technical consultants and staff.
Funding is provided through a SAFE. This is an agreement that can give Breakthrough Energy a future ownership stake if the agreement's trigger conditions are met; it is not a current shareholding. The programme does not publish its conversion terms or resulting ownership stake.
Alongside the investment, Fellows receive technical project management, training, one-to-one mentoring, access to industry and investor networks, and support with areas such as legal work, recruitment, policy and technology economics. Fellows work towards technical milestones for 12 months, followed by three months of close-out and evaluation.
Eligibility
You can apply as an individual, with co-founders or through an existing company. A team submits one application. You do not need an incorporated company when applying, but you must incorporate before the programme starts if selected.
Your project should:
- be a very early-stage hard-tech climate technology, typically at technology readiness level 1–4;
- have moved beyond basic scientific research into practical work, with supporting data available;
- either have the potential to reduce or capture at least 500 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year at scale, or meaningfully address adaptation to climate change.
The programme covers manufacturing, electricity, transport, food and agriculture, and buildings, and also considers other technology categories that meet its impact test.
Teams have typically raised less than $2 million in investment funding before the programme starts. This includes equity, notes and SAFEs; previous grant funding is not capped by this criterion.
If selected, you must work full time on your startup and cannot continue outside employment, consulting or academic enrolment. Professors, faculty members and full-time researchers may apply, but must leave their position to become an Innovator Fellow.
Applications are accepted worldwide. You do not have to relocate and can work from any country, although the programme may ask Fellows to attend occasional in-person events. Programme communication and training are in English.
How to apply
- Statut
- Dates non annoncées
Applications are currently closed. Use Breakthrough Energy's application portal to join the interest list for a notification when Cohort 7 opens. The portal says it expects applications to reopen in fall 2026, but no exact opening date or deadline has been published.
The most recently published Innovator intake began with a concept paper and pitch deck. Selected applicants then submitted a fuller technology, business-model and impact application, followed by a deep-dive interview for those who progressed. Check the Cohort 7 instructions when they are released because its steps may change.