The Green Blueprint The rogue idea that saved a hydrogen startup
Aug 13, 2025
Zach Jones, Co-founder and CEO of Grafitic Energy, shares a riveting insider's tale of innovation and conflict within his hydrogen startup. He recounts a surprising mutiny where the technical team proposed an untested hydrogen production method that threatened the company's future. Zach discusses the challenges of balancing innovation with commitment to existing projects, the strategic hiring of a new CTO, and the transition to methane virolysis. The conversation dives into how their new approach not only produces clean hydrogen but also valuable graphite, addressing the green premium dilemma.
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Mutiny Over A New Technical Idea
- Zach discovered his technical team was secretly developing a new approach and tensions rose into a near-mutiny.
- The dispute forced an off-site retreat where the team aired grievances and reassessed priorities together.
Home Idea That Grew Into A Lab Project
- The team's R&D director proposed a different methane-pyrolysis approach at a casual house meeting.
- Despite Zach's initial restrictions, the experiment kept growing in the lab and the team worked nights to advance it.
Turning Carbon Byproduct Into Valuable Graphite
- Methane pyrolysis can produce hydrogen without CO2 by making solid carbon instead of emissions.
- Grafitic Energy turns that carbon into marketable graphite, making the carbon an asset rather than a liability.