During the summer of 2024, I contributed to the Climate Knowledge Initiative (CKI), within the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change, on the personal mobility and energy storage workstream, focusing on the electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem. CKI, led by Professor Gernot Wagner, aims to equip business leaders with curated, actionable insights needed to identify investable and scalable green technologies in their respective sectors, while candidly highlighting areas where business interests diverge from the public good. My role involved preparing concise knowledge briefs for business leaders in the sector. Drawing on publicly available resources and expert interviews, I developed presentation materials that provided a market overview, highlighted current trends and future technological advancements, and identified financial and political barriers to EV battery adoption. CKI plans to use this material in an upcoming workshop for industry and academic leaders, and to develop case studies tailored for MBA students. This initiative aligns closely with the Tamer Institute's mission of educating leaders to leverage business knowledge, entrepreneurial skills, and management tools to address social and environmental challenges.

CKI was an excellent opportunity to refine several vital skills I developed during my MBA. First, I applied a strategic business environment analysis using a holistic approach, encompassing demand and supply forecasting, key player landscapes, technological challenges and adjacent business opportunities. For example, I analyzed supply risks related to EV batteries, such as the shortage of critical minerals and the geographic concentration of supply chains. Second, CKI allowed me to dive deeper into topics from my Business and Climate Change class. While I learned about the critical role EVs play in mitigating climate change and the potential barriers to adoption in the class, CKI allowed me to explore these issues further. I was able to delve deeper into the challenge of the cost of batteries, and analyzed battery cost trends and the key drivers behind cost reduction. Lastly, CKI required collaboration within and across workstreams with multiple stakeholders, providing a platform for me to practice leadership and teamwork. In the personal mobility and energy storage workstream, I coordinated with the team lead and other members to ensure a smooth storyline and consistent messaging. Additionally, I took the initiative to manage the dynamic Mekko chart, which required a holistic perspective and the incorporation of feedback from various stakeholders.

One of the main challenges I faced was selecting the most important and meaningful information within the vast scope of the project. Although there are abundant topics and issues in the personal mobility and energy storage sector — being a rapidly evolving area — my team had to selectively focus on the most critical issues to provide the greatest value to the audience. This was especially challenging for me because, having some industry knowledge from prior experience consulting for a global battery manufacturer, I was concerned that the knowledge CKI would bring to industry leaders might not be new enough. At the same time, given the varying understanding and interests of different potential audiences, the material couldn't be too technical or too narrow in scope. Through multiple feedback sessions with Professor Wagner, the team was able to shape the material in a way that would be most helpful to the audience.

Another challenge I faced was digesting scientific and technical materials and synthesizing them into audience-friendly content. Since active research and development are ongoing in battery technologies, I had to read multiple papers, understand them, and extract insights. Without a science or engineering background, I had relatively low confidence in my deliverables. To address this challenge, I conducted expert interviews and obtained reviews. In this process, I actively leveraged personal connections to recruit experts. With this collective knowledge, I believe the depth and accuracy of CKI's deliverables improved greatly.

Participating in CKI was an invaluable experience for me in several ways. I thoroughly enjoyed diving into solutions for climate change, particularly exploring barriers and investment opportunities that can overcome these barriers and unlock even greater potential. One of the most exciting topics was seeing how, although battery costs have dropped to make EVs competitive with ICE vehicles, the industry is now shifting to solve other challenges, such as scaling charging infrastructure and exploring emerging opportunities like vehicle-to-grid technologies. As CKI rapidly expands its workstreams, including hydrogen, biofuels, and sustainable food systems, I was fortunate to gain exposure to these critical sectors through all-CKI meetings, where findings were shared across teams. The Slack channel, where fellows shared intriguing articles and case studies, also was an excellent platform for continuous learning.

Another highlight of my CKI fellowship was working alongside passionate and talented colleagues. CKI brought together a diverse group from across the Columbia community, allowing me to learn from those with different academic/ professional backgrounds and areas of expertise. Informal events, like happy hours, provided great opportunities to connect on a personal level. I believe the CKI community will remain a valuable network for me, even beyond the program, as our paths continue to cross through our shared commitment to climate change solutions.