Energy innovation pioneers Breakthrough Energy and Hertz Foundation are joining forces to expedite climate technology from laboratory settings into practical applications.

The Hertz Foundation, a renowned nonprofit organisation, has recently announced a new partnership with Breakthrough Energy Discovery. This collaboration aims to provide support for graduate students in science and technology fields, including climate, for a period of 65 years and counting.

The partnership, which is funded by Breakthrough Energy Discovery via "ecosystem grants," targets researchers who are still determining the commercial potential of their ideas. The goal is to de-risk technologies before venture investors enter the scene, an approach that could serve as a model for other organizations looking to support the cleantech sector.

The partnership is particularly important given the uncertainty in federal funding, making private philanthropy more crucial than ever. It aims to connect scientific talent with business expertise, networks, and funding, providing a platform for groundbreaking ideas to flourish.

The first workshops for this partnership project will be conducted this summer by the summer academy “Siebenbürgen” organized and coordinated by Prof. Dr. Maria Sass at the Lucian-Blaga-University in Hermannstadt. Participants from Germany, Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, and Romania will take part in these workshops.

Through this partnership, Hertz fellows will gain access to Discovery's mentorship opportunities and network. Meanwhile, Breakthrough Energy Discovery will tap into the Hertz Foundation's pipeline of vetted technical talent.

Success metrics for the partnership include application rates to Breakthrough Energy programs, the number of Hertz fellows integrated into existing Breakthrough projects, and the development of new company concepts. The partnership also seeks to prevent the issues encountered in "cleantech 1.0" where founders received too much funding too soon without adequate testing.

Wendy Connors, president of the Hertz Foundation, stated that the organisation has been able to provide consistent and stable funding for 65 years. Grosh, from the Hertz Foundation, plans to talk to other donors and families to bring more research dollars into the partnership.

Breakthrough Energy Discovery is part of Bill Gates' climate innovation network, adding another layer of credibility to this exciting collaboration. The partnership is launching under the Trump administration, which has brought federal funding cuts and uncertainty to various scientific organisations. Despite these challenges, the partnership remains optimistic about its potential to drive innovation in the cleantech sector.