Bill Gates Backs Major Fuel Innovation Fund to Clean Up Aviation Emissions

Bill Gates has joined forces with several major airlines in launching a $150 million sustainable aviation fuel fund aimed at reducing the sector’s carbon footprint. The fund is managed by Gates-backed Breakthrough Energy Ventures and includes participants such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Airlines.

With aviation contributing between 2 and 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, this fund aims to accelerate development in next-generation sustainable aviation fuel technologies. Proposed innovations include algae-based and hydrogen-derived fuels, intended to be scalable and cost effective. The move comes in response to the very low share of sustainable aviation fuel used globally so far, which stood at only 0.3 percent of total jet fuel in 2024.

Gates and other stakeholders argue that collaborative investment among airlines is necessary to overcome the high costs and infrastructure challenges associated with sustainable fuels, and to ensure the aviation industry can meet growing regulatory and public pressure to decarbonize.