The private sector is essential in bringing new technologies into the market. While publicly supported research provides a wellspring of new knowledge and discovery, it is the private sector that must identify, evaluate, and carry forward the best ideas to commercialization. Businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors turn innovations into the products and companies that change the world.

Mission Innovation assists member governments with identifying opportunities and engaging the private sector by exchanging information to improve understanding of clean energy innovation needs and perspectives, and by encouraging investment to expand and enhance the innovation pipeline. Examples include:

• Focusing on early-stage technology development coming out of Mission Innovation countries, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition —a group of high net worth investors from 10 countries—has made an unprecedented commitment to make risk-tolerant investments in next generation technologies. These investments, which are guided by a set of Principles, will catalyze broad business participation in the commercialization and deployment of clean, reliable, and affordable

  

  energy technologies worldwide. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the largest of the coalition’s investment vehicles, will invest US$1 billion in companies that need the unique attributes of the fund.

•  Mission Innovation has partnered with the World Economic Forum to facilitate engagement between leading businesses and Mission Innovation members. The collaboration is focused on selected Innovation Challenges—areas that are most promising for greater public–private cooperation to help develop and unleash new technologies into the market.
• Mission Innovation webinars provide businesses, investors, and other stakeholders with overviews of MI countries’ clean energy innovation policies, programs, and opportunities for engagement.
• Business and industry managers work together with academic and government scientists during Mission Innovation R&D Opportunities Workshops, offering important perspectives from the private sector.

By coupling sustained public investment in research and development with business leadership and insights, fledgling ideas can be more rapidly brought into the mainstream.

For more information, see:

• Breakthrough Energy Coalition
  • Breakthrough Energy Ventures
• MI-WEF Collaboration
  • Press Release
  • Letters of Collaboration
• MI webinars
• MI R&D Opportunity Workshops
• MI Business and Investor Engagement Sub-Group