Oil Industry Seeks to Help Gasoline-Fueled Cars in Climate Fight

Big oil is betting it can help the internal combustion engine, the heart of its business for a century, withstand the onslaught from electric cars.

A $1 billion fund created by a coalition of 10 the world’s biggest energy companies, including BP Plc and Saudi Arabian Oil Co., is making an investment in Achates Power Inc., which is engineering more efficient gasoline-fueled engines in a bid to curb pollution.

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, which also includes Total SA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA, invested $29.8 million in Achates, a San Diego-based company that says its technology ...