Member Spotlight: Andrew Koch
This week, I spoke with Andrew Koch, Akcelerate Consulting founder & consultant, boosting team and manager performance via customized training sessions and workshops. We discussed about his journey from engineering to consulting in climate.
Laura Knaub: What’s your climate journey?
Andrew Koch:
Being a responsible denizen of Planet Earth has driven nearly every big decision in my life, in addition to the smaller day-to-day decisions.
Career-wise:
My professional climate journey began in 2013, when LED lighting was starting to explode onto the market. At the time (not that long ago!) LED lamps still relied heavily on subsidies to make them cost-competitive with incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. My first job out of college was at GE Lighting in Cleveland, working on bringing the cost of LED lamps down.
I then pursued a Master's degree at UBC in Canada, working on a novel green energy device - a solar thermionic converter which turned concentrated sunlight into heat, then into electrons.
That work led me to Modern Electron (now Modern Hydrogen), developing thermionic converters into a real-world product to convert heat to electricity. I started at Modern Electron in 2015, as a versatile R&D engineer, and eventually worked my way up to Director of Engineering.
In 2022, Modern Electron pivoted to methane pyrolysis and became Modern Hydrogen. I led the effort to develop the first full working pilot system for this methane pyrolysis technology. Two of those pilot systems are currently operational at customer sites.
This technology converts natural gas (methane) into hydrogen gas + solid carbon powder. The H2 gas can then be burned as a fuel without releasing any CO2 into the atmosphere. The solid carbon can be put into the ground or into a variety of applications, where it will stay in solid form for a long time.
I left Modern Hydrogen earlier this year to pursue my passion of teaching and training full-time. I started Akcelerate Consulting to export Modern Hydrogen's world-class team culture, R&D strategy, and engineering operations to the world.
I am also currently consulting with several climate tech startups, using my expertise and experience to help them develop and scale their green technologies. I help them with system design, engineering, test planning, roadmapping, and connecting them with industry experts.
Day-to-day:
Small choices add up! I eat mostly plant-based, commute via e-scooter, and generally try to avoid car travel as much as possible.
Laura Knaub: Why did you choose to collaborate with 9Zero?
Andrew Koch:
9Zero is an incredibly fertile environment for ideation, innovation, and finding new ways to contribute to the fight against climate change and preserve our precious ecosystem.
“Innovation happens at the intersection" is a powerful maxim I learned from a Stanford course on innovation. In other words, innovative ideas are almost always born in places where people of different backgrounds, with different experiences, and from different industries come together to solve a problem. Getting ourselves out of this climate crisis will require tons of innovation. Places like 9Zero are where that will happen
Laura Knaub: Do you have a favorite spot or feature at the Climate Hub?
Andrew Koch:
The kitchen! I've had eye-opening discussions about climate there every single week.
Laura Knaub: What’s been inspiring you lately?
Andrew Koch: Oddly enough, a quote I saw at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, near my hometown. It's a quote from defensive end J. J. Watt:
“Success isn't owned. It's leased, and rent is due every day." - J. J. Watt
Laura Knaub: Can you share a specific moment or experience at the Climate Hub that made you think, “This is exactly where I need to be”? Maybe a great conversation, a valuable connection, or a breakthrough for your work?
Andrew Koch: I was reading “The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs, which is the seminal work on the subject of Urbanism, written in the 1960s (way ahead of its time!). At the time, there were maybe 5 people in the kitchen/lounge area, and one person noticed the book I was reading. It turned out that 3 of the 5 people in the room had already read the book (the first 3 I've met in my life!) and it sparked up a great discussion about urbanism.
Laura Knaub: Any other question you'd like to answer?
Andrew Koch:
My other hobbies:
Songwriting - I write songs for my metal band Shards of Narsil as well as my pop-punk solo project Leftbauer.
Volunteer tutoring - I work with the Youth Tutoring Program of Catholic Community Services of King County. Great program!
Ripping through the streets of Seattle with my e-scooter.
I've recently gotten into painting with acrylics. If anyone knows of a good painting class or program, let me know!
I would consider myself a “management expert" in the context of managing a small professional team. I dedicated 7 years of my career to mastering the art of people- and project management. I'm happy to help anyone who is facing challenges working with their manager and/or their team.
