Bill Gates is backing a new startup which aims to turn sunlight into a source of heat exceeding 1,000 degrees that could help replace fossil fuels.

Heliogen has achieved a solar breakthrough as this concentrated solar energy can be used to create heat that is required to manufacture cement, steel, glass and other industrial processes, The Guardian reported. These plants produce more than 20 percent of the world’s carbon emissions, but Heliogen’s new concentrated solar technology may change that.

The company has found a way to use artificial intelligence and mirrors to reflect sunlight and generate extreme heat. The technology can split hydrogen molecules from water to create a fossil-free gas to fuel cars and power factories.

Heliogen has the support of private equity investors and entrepreneurs who believe its technology could help the most polluting industries to control their carbon emissions.

Bill Gross, the chief executive and founder of California-based Heliogen, said the company represents a technological leap forward in tackling the emissions from industry and transport that constitute 75 per cent of the world’s carbon footprint.

The technology can produce temperatures high enough to manufacture cement without fossil fuels. Cement is the world’s third-largest source of emissions, and its production is expected to grow due to urbanisation in developing countries and economic growth. Gates said he was pleased to be a supporter of “promising development in the quest to one day replace fossil fuel”.