The Clean Fight, Builders Vision, and Breakthrough Energy Launch New Grant Fund to Scale Climate Solutions in Buildings
Catalytic capital initiative aims to unlock rapid deployment, cut emissions, and build a more resilient economy
New York, July 23, 2025 - The Clean Fight, Builders Vision, and Breakthrough Energy, with support from Turner Construction Company, are proud to announce the Deployment Grand Fund – a new national program to help proven building solutions get deployed faster and more widely. Through small-dollar catalytic capital ranging from $50,000 to $250,000, the program is designed to scale energy innovation and resilience projects in buildings. The effort seeks replicable pathways to have proven climate solutions adopted affordably, transform first deployments into first-of-many, cut energy costs, and accelerate the growth of a cleaner, more resilient economy.
The Deployment Grant Fund is designed to learn which solutions are most effective at speeding adoption. The pilot will invite a select group of high-impact, ready-to-scale solution providers to apply for grants to prove out scalable projects that address operational and/or embodied carbon emissions in buildings.
Buildings are responsible for one third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and more than 70 percent of carbon emissions in many large U.S. cities. Most buildings rely on outdated systems that are less efficient. Updating these systems is a big task. By some estimates there are nearly 130 million buildings in the U.S. Approximately one million buildings are built in the U.S. each year–that’s a new New York City every 12 months.
The good news is that there are solutions ready for commercial scaling to reach net zero emissions by 2050. They have proven their efficacy, yet they are not getting adopted quickly.
That’s where the Deployment Grant Fund comes in. Through their work in New York State, The Clean Fight has found that small-dollar grants can have an outsized impact in de-risking initial deployments and getting a customer to a ‘yes’ more quickly. Small-dollar grants become a tipping point. They can act as a credit enhancement to crowd in private capital, give developers and customers the ability to prove-out new, cost effective business models, or buy down the cost of an initial deployment. The success of that first deployment then provides a glidepath to the ‘many,’ pushing the solution into widespread adoption. Some examples of the power of catalytic grant capital:
A $150,000 grant that enables an international energy storage company to demonstrate its system with a New York-based utility. This prompted the utility to contract 35 additional systems across New York State and caught the eye of a regional utility consortium. The company has now successfully partnered with seven utilities, leveraged two incentive programs that will enable it to deploy $50 million in equipment, secured site control for 39 battery-backed EV charging sites, many in disadvantaged communities, and established a manufacturing hub within the State.
A $90,000 grant that enabled a portfolio owner to evaluate a novel energy efficiency platform across 14 low-to-moderate income housing buildings in their portfolio. The deployment saved them 20% in energy costs and resulted in them deploying the solution across multiple additional properties. This market validation also helped lead to two other New York portfolio owners deploying the solution across their full portfolios.
“Building a resilient future requires more than breakthrough technologies – it demands the right capital, partnerships, and pathways to scale,” said Amanda Goldberger, Builders Vision’s Philanthropy Head of Strategy & Planning. “This fund shows how small but catalytic grants can unlock larger investments, accelerate market adoption, and bring forward the sustainable infrastructure our communities and economy urgently need. We’re proud to work alongside The Clean Fight and Breakthrough Energy to move solutions from proven to widespread.”
“Decarbonizing buildings is one of our greatest climate challenges, and it won’t be solved by invention alone. We need bold, targeted interventions that help proven technologies cross the chasm to wide-scale adoption,” said Brian Mayers, Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “The Deployment Grant Fund is exactly that: a practical tool to reduce financial risk for adopters and prove performance in real-world conditions. We’re proud to work with Builders Vision and The Clean Fight to deploy this deeply catalytic capital and unlock the next chapter of climate progress.”
"This is the moment to ensure that critical climate technologies don’t just sit on the sidelines, and instead get into buildings to make the places where we live and work healthier, safer, more efficient, and more reliable. The Clean Fight is thrilled to partner with Builders Vision and Breakthrough Energy to ensure that the momentum we’ve achieved continues, unlocking a new era of innovation, resilience, and economic growth that will make a real difference in people's lives." Kate Frucher, Managing Director, The Clean Fight.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Deployment Grant Fund and being involved contact heather@thecleanfight.com.
About The Clean Fight
The Clean Fight is a not-for-profit dedicated to accelerating the deployment of climate solutions, ensuring they are adopted quickly, affordably, and at scale.To enable this adoption, The Clean Fight designs and implements programs to prove out the most impactful strategies to remove key barriers to adoption of scale-ready solutions. The Clean Fight is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and is a chapter of New Energy Nexus. www.thecleanfight.com
About Builder’s Vision
Builders Vision is an impact platform dedicated to supporting people and organizations building a more humane and healthy planet through philanthropy, investment, and advocacy. The organization aims to shift markets and minds for good by offering a range of tools to help seed and scale sustainable solutions to societal and environmental issues across three key focus areas: Oceans, Food & Agriculture, and Energy. You can learn more at www.buildersvision.com.
About Breakthrough Energy
Breakthrough Energy is a global platform focused on accelerating clean energy innovation and building the industries of the future. Founded by Bill Gates in 2015, Breakthrough Energy works across every major source of emissions to drive down costs, eliminate green premiums, and make clean technologies affordable and accessible worldwide. The organization supports investment-ready breakthroughs at every stage of the innovation pipeline—through its discovery platform for pre-venture innovation, a suite of venture capital funds backing over 120 climate tech companies, and flexible capital for commercial deployment. Breakthrough Energy finds solutions, funds them, and brings people together to scale them. Learn more at breakthroughenergy.org.
About Turner Construction Company
Turner Construction Company’s vision is to be the highest value provider of construction services. Turner delivers services on complex and challenging building projects of all types and sizes throughout North America and in 30 countries around the world. It seeks to create a healthy, prosperous, and sustainable future for people, clients, partners, and the planet. The firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, an engineering-led global infrastructure solutions provider with leading positions in North America, Australia and Europe and a rapidly expanding presence in high-tech, energy transition and sustainable infrastructure markets. To learn more about Turner visit www.turnerconstruction.com.