YANG ZHONG IS CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF CARBION, an MIT spinout startup using waste biomass to make high-quality graphite for batteries, with the goal of lowering emissions and reducing reliance on imports.
But entrepreneurship wasn’t his first plan.
“When I was younger, I knew I felt driven to do something new, something impactful,” Zhong said. “And at that time, through my ecosystem, through my cultural background, I thought maybe professorship was the thing for me. It’s the reason why I pursued my Ph.D.”
Indeed, Zhong followed the full academic path. It started with a mechanical engineering undergraduate degree in a 2+2 program that gave him exposure to both Eastern and Western education systems. From there, he moved into a dual degree in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) and mechanical engineering at MIT, where he worked in 2D materials, microelectronics, heat transfer, and AI for manufacturing and energy applications.
The journey culminated in a Ph.D. in water and energy sciences, and brought him into work that carried real-world urgency: atmospheric water harvesting and solar desalination. Zhong helped create two novel devices using the technology: one that used embedded materials to pull drinking water from the air, and another for solar desalination, turning seawater into fresh water.
His trajectory in academia began to shift. “We’re facing a lot of challenges in water scarcity,” he said. “People don’t have access to water. I think that part made me realize we really need to build something practical and useful to put in people’s hands.”
The Entrepreneurial Bug
A culture of entrepreneurship began to influence him, reinforced by his advisor. “She always said that although we’re doing science, we should keep an open mind and eye toward applications,” Zhong said. “And in the U.S., I learned that people embrace risk. They’ve built venture capital to support entrepreneurs, especially at an early stage, to build their own businesses. That really changed my mind.”
Through entrepreneurial training at MIT and a minor in finance, Zhong set his sights on starting a company. He wanted to create something novel and useful, and his work in water technology had clear scientific promise.
“The technology was super cool, like magic. The device was recognized as a TIME best invention,” he said. Through programs including MIT Sandbox and NSF I-Corps, Zhong and his team interviewed nearly 100 potential customers for the device they developed at MIT. The technology itself performed well, he said, but once they factored in industrial treatment and other system costs, the benefit became less straightforward.
“That’s the moment I realized, okay, this world is brutal," he said. “We really need to create something valuable for our customers.”
Seeing a huge demand for critical material, he and his co-founder began looking at graphite, a material essential to lithium-ion batteries and broader electrification. The demand was there; the domestic supply was not. And the existing production methods struck Zhong as outdated, energy-intensive, and damaging to the environment.
“When I first found out about this field, I could not believe it,” Zhong said. “We’re still using methods developed 100 years ago. There’s a lot of new technological advancement. So why are we still using that?”
“My advisor always said although we’re doing science, have an open mind and open eye to application. And in the U.S., I learned that people embrace risk. They’ve built venture capital to support entrepreneurs, especially at an early stage, to build their own businesses. That really changed my mind.”
—Yang Zhong, CEO and Co-Founder, Carbion
Zhong’s interest in engineering was first sparked by the intricacies of his flute, and the science behind why it rusted and how to clean it. If he could sit down with any scientist, it would be Nikola Tesla because “his mind doesn’t feel human.” The dinner spot would likely be one of the hot pot restaurants in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park area, where Carbion employees often go for company outings.
Ripe for reinvention
The origin of Carbion was fittingly scrappy, Zhong said. Sitting in an MIT office cubicle one day, drinking coconut water, he turned to his co-founder and asked, “Can we turn this coconut shell into battery material like graphite?” They applied for MIT Sandbox funding to build their furnace; three months later, they successfully turned coconut shells purchased off eBay into graphite in their kitchen.
“It was really exciting,” Zhong said. “We knew there would be customers desperately looking for domestic graphite, and so we decided to spin off this company.”
The company’s larger goal is to turn waste biomass into high-value graphite while building a cleaner domestic supply chain for batteries. For Zhong, the waste problem and the battery-materials problem are connected. “If we can come up with a way to convert something wasteful into something valuable—I think it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said.
Carbion has already validated its graphite performance, Zhong said. Now, the company is preparing for the next phase: scaling. “I was fortunate to receive an Activate Fellowship,” Zhong said. “It really allowed me to think like an entrepreneur and also move our company from Boston to New York.”
The pressure of building a company has been intense, he added. “It’s stressful, of course, much more stressful than pursuing a Ph.D. You’re responsible for the company, the employees, and the investors. But at the same time, it has also been a process of growth and learning. The growth and learning compound over time.”
And he has a whole community to lean on.
“MIT has a great community. The same is true for Activate, which is also a group of engineers and scientists turned entrepreneurs. We share a lot of knowledge—and a little bit of startup trauma—together,” he said.
His advice to other engineers considering entrepreneurship is simple: test the idea, but do not wait forever.
“When you have a great idea, you need to test it and think about it, of course, but don’t hesitate or wait too long,” Zhong said. “Once you know this is the thing for you, definitely give it a try.”
Sarah Alburakeh is strategic content editor.
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