Bill Gates said his climate investment fund will commit $1.5 billion toward joint projects with the U.S. government aimed at developing technologies that reduce carbon emissions — if Congress enacts the $1 trillion infrastructure bill yet to be passed by the House, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The infrastructure bill passed by the Senate in a 69-30 vote would allocate $25 billion to the U.S. Department of Energy for demonstration projects funded through public-private partnerships, part of more than $100 billion earmarked for efforts to address climate change, including improving the nation's electrical grid, bolstering infrastructure against natural disasters, and subsidizing a transition to emissions-free cars, trucks, and buses. In an exclusive interview with the Journal, Gates said that Breakthrough Energy's Catalyst fund could invest $1.5 billion over three years in joint projects that could include emissions-free fuel for planes and technology to suck carbon dioxide out of the air. He said he hopes that in addition to federal funds, the $1.5 billion will attract other investors to raise as much as $15 billion for various projects.

"Critical for all these climate technologies is to get the costs down and to be able to scale them up to a pretty gigantic level," said Gates. "You'll never get that scaleup unless the government's coming in with the right policies, and the right policy is exactly what's in that infrastructure bill....The goal of the demonstration projects is to drop the 'green premium' over time all the way to zero...."

If the legislation is not enacted, Gates told the Journal, the fund will likely shift funding for the biggest projects to Europe and Asia instead. In June, the European Commission and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst announced a partnership aimed at mobilizing new investments of up to €820 million ($1 billion) between 2022 and 2026 to build large-scale, commercial demonstration projects for clean technologies.

Following the Senate vote, a coalition of the largest auto and utility trade groups and several environmental groups announced that it would coordinate investments in projects that become part of the legislation's $7.5 billion program to install more charging stations for electric vehicles. The fact that pledges are being announced even before Congress approves the funding is a sign of support in the business community for these programs, said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. "It shows that the private sector is ready to lead the fight to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and achieve [an emissions-free] economy in partnership with government."

(Photo credit: GatesNotes)