Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy Ventures Is Bullish On The Future Of This Clean, Sustainable Fuel Startup

Business magnate Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures has made a number of interesting moves in the last month, including investing in startup ClearFlame Engine Technologies. 

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ClearFlame’s technology converts existing diesel engines into clean-burning ethanol motors. If ClearFlame can produce its technology at scale, it could change the way goods are transported around the globe. 

Most major movers of commercial products over land are trucks powered by diesel engines, which have high emission rates. ClearFlame recognizes that it’s more feasible to develop an all-new “clean” diesel truck fleet by converting existing diesel engines to clean-burning ethanol motors than it is to wait for alternatives like all-electric motors to power diesel trucks. 

CleanFlame has pioneered keeping the internal combustion engine-powered truck fleet that commerce depends on, while quickly converting the fuel source for those engines away from diesel to clean-burning ethanol. This conversion will allow trucks to burn clean fuels without sacrificing performance or increasing fuel costs. 

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More importantly, the fuel sources for ClearFlame are affordable, sustainable and globally abundant. Examples of the kinds of engines that can be converted with ClearFlame technologies include:

• Heavy trucks such as tractor-trailers and semis
• Heavy agricultural and farm equipment like tractors
• Large-scale power generators

ClearFlame’s technology matches current diesel fuels for performance while reducing emissions and is significantly cheaper. ClearFlame projects that over the lifespan of converted engines, the fuel costs should be 40% less than electric-powered options and 30% less than hydrogen-powered options. This will allow most fleet owners to even out the conversion costs within 18 to 24 months of installation. 

Another advantage of ClearFlame’s technology is that because it uses essentially the same diesel motor while only changing out the fuel source, most of the other parts and inner workings of the motors will remain the same. Mechanics that now service traditional diesel motors can easily be re-trained in the new technology.

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ClearFlame already owns several patents for its technology and it has applied for approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to produce it on a large scale. ClearFlame, now in a Series B funding round, has generated a lot of excitement.

This is all part of why Gates is interested. Many of his investments center on companies that offer potential solutions to humanity’s most pressing problems, such as climate change and healthcare. With that in mind, ClearFlame is one to watch. It checks off a lot of boxes for the environmentally conscious investor, and if startups with lots of upsides are your cup of tea, ClearFlame is worth keeping an eye on.

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