American technology company Apple on Monday announced the launch of a 720 million yuan ($99.3 million) investment fund to accelerate clean energy development in China, advancing the company’s goal to transition its supply chain to 100% renewable energy by 2030.
The second phase of the China Clean Energy Fund, managed by Schroders, is set to add nearly 550,000 megawatt-hours of wind and solar capacity annually to China’s power grid.
“This builds on the success of the initial fund,” launched in 2018, which created over 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy projects across 14 provinces, it stated.
“Our suppliers in China are driving world-class advances in smart and green manufacturing,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “With the launch of the second China Clean Energy Fund, we’re proud to deepen our collaboration with suppliers across China to drive innovation, opportunity and progress for our shared planet.”
The new fund aims to support renewable energy projects in early stages of development, broadening access to clean energy for companies of all sizes.
Currently, about two-thirds of Apple’s production in China is powered by renewable energy, with contributions from more than 100 suppliers.