Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy Podcast

Wes Ashworth

Welcome to Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy, a podcast dedicated to unveiling the stories, insights, and strategies of the most influential leaders in the renewable and clean energy sector. Our mission is to offer a platform where the voices of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries in renewable energy are amplified, sharing their journey, challenges, and triumphs with a global audience.

  1. 1 day ago

    From Lab to Scale: Tina Tosukhowong of TDK Ventures on What Makes Deep Tech Commercially Viable

    Breakthrough science is only the beginning. The harder challenge is turning promising technology into a system that can operate reliably, economically, and repeatedly in the real world. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy, Wes Ashworth, host and President of Lee Group Search sits down with Tina Tosukhowong, Investment Director at TDK Ventures, to explore what separates deep-tech companies that scale from those that stall between the lab, pilot plant, and first commercial facility. Tina brings an unusually valuable perspective to venture investing. Before becoming an investor, she spent years as a chemical engineer and industrial operator working across process development, pilot operations, scale-up, commercialization, manufacturing, and customer qualification.   That operating experience shapes how she evaluates climate tech, advanced materials, AI infrastructure, and other capital-intensive technologies today. Tina explains why scaling is not simply a matter of building a larger version of a successful pilot. At commercial scale, entirely new risks emerge around heat transfer, fluid flow, contamination, materials handling, uptime, permitting, utilities, feedstocks, safety, supply chains, and integration with customer sites. The companies that succeed are often the ones that identify failure modes early, run the right experiments, and learn faster than their capital disappears.  The conversation also tackles one of the most important questions in deep tech: When has a company actually earned the right to scale? Wes and Tina explore why raising too much money too early can be dangerous, how founders should think about risk retirement before committing hundreds of millions of dollars to a first commercial plant, and why the strongest financing strategy aligns capital with specific learning milestones. They also discuss founder-market fit, coachability, executive hiring, productive board conflict, and why the right investor syndicate can matter as much as valuation.  The discussion then moves into the rapidly evolving physical infrastructure behind AI. Tina breaks down opportunities across data-center power delivery, energy storage, cooling, thermal materials, networking, semiconductors, and photonics. She explains why the next wave of AI infrastructure innovation may come not only from better chips, but from everything required to power, connect, and cool them efficiently.   The episode also explores fusion energy, synthetic fuels, critical minerals, and frontier technologies, including Tina’s perspective on Type One Energy, INERATEC, and the growing overlap between clean energy, computing, advanced materials, manufacturing, and national supply-chain resilience.  In this episode, you’ll learn:  Why industrial scale-up exposes risks that laboratory success cannot predict  What founders should prove before committing to a first commercial facility  How capital discipline can prevent expensive first-of-a-kind mistakes  Why learning speed and coachability matter so much in deep-tech leadership  When experienced executives help startups and when they can slow them down  Why investor syndicates and boards become critical when plans break  Where Tina sees overlooked opportunities in AI data-center infrastructure  Why cooling, rack-level power conversion, and photonics could become major bottlenecks  What industrial operating experience reveals about the future of fusion  How e-fuels, critical minerals, AI, and advanced materials are increasingly converging For founders, investors, operators, and leaders building the next generation of clean energy and deep-tech companies, this episode is a practical look at what it really takes to move from possibility to commercial reality. Links: Tina Tosukhowong on LinkedIn TDK Ventures Website Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  2. 4 Sept

    The Battery Breakthrough Hiding in the Electrolyte with David Mackanic, Anthro Energy

    What if the next major battery breakthrough does not require a new chemistry, a new factory, or an entirely new manufacturing ecosystem? In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth sits down with David Mackanic, Co-Founder and CEO of Anthro Energy, to explore why the electrolyte may be one of the most overlooked levers in battery performance.  Anthro Energy is developing Proteus, a phase-change electrolyte designed to enter a battery cell as a liquid and then solidify during formation. The goal is to improve safety, mechanical stability, swelling behavior, and compatibility with higher-energy chemistries while using existing lithium-ion manufacturing equipment.  David explains why this approach could matter for everything from silicon-rich batteries and consumer electronics to EVs, robotics, defense, autonomous systems, and physical AI. The conversation also gets into one of the biggest challenges in battery innovation: making something work not just in a laboratory, but consistently, economically, and at industrial scale. Wes and David discuss: Why the electrolyte has historically received less attention than the anode and cathodeHow Proteus transitions from liquid to solid inside the battery cellWhy "drop-in" manufacturing does not mean zero process changesHow mechanical stabilization can help address silicon expansion, cracking, swelling, and degradationWhy better batteries require progress across energy density, safety, cycle life, and manufacturability at the same timeHow Anthro thinks about reducing both the frequency and severity of battery safety eventsWhy a more expensive electrolyte can still create greater value at the full cell and application levelWhy robotics, autonomous systems, defense, and physical AI create a different battery problem than conventional EVsHow structural batteries could eventually change the architecture of products themselvesHow Anthro Atlas uses AI to explore enormous electrolyte design spaces and accelerate materials developmentWhere AI predictions still have to prove themselves against real-world chemistry and manufacturingWhat changes when a materials science company moves from discovery into productionWhy Anthro is scaling advanced electrolyte manufacturing in the United StatesWhy the future of batteries is unlikely to be defined by one winning chemistryDavid’s background spans mechanical engineering, chemistry, polymer science, and advanced battery research, including a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford focused on polymer systems for safer, longer-lasting, higher-energy lithium-ion batteries.  This episode is a deep look at the intersection of battery technology, advanced materials, AI-driven discovery, U.S. manufacturing, energy storage, robotics, and the future of electrification. Links: David Mackanic on LinkedIn Anthro Energy's Website Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  3. 28 Aug

    Geothermal Retrofits: Better Buildings from the Ground Up with Mike Richter, Brightcore Energy

    Most of the buildings we will depend on for the next several decades are already standing. That makes the next phase of building decarbonization less about showcase new construction and more about upgrading the systems hidden behind walls, beneath floors, and underground. In this episode, Wes Ashworth sits down with Mike Richter, President of Brightcore Energy, to explore geothermal heating and cooling as a practical building-performance strategy. Mike brings a rare perspective to the conversation. After a 15-year NHL career that included a Stanley Cup championship and Olympic medal, he built a second career focused on climate, energy efficiency, and the built environment. Mike explains the critical difference between geothermal power generation and the ground-source systems used to heat and cool buildings. He breaks down the physics in accessible terms, then shows how smaller drilling rigs, directional drilling, hybrid systems, advanced controls, and real-time data are expanding what is possible in dense cities and occupied buildings. The conversation also examines why retrofits are the true test of decarbonization. Existing buildings come with aging infrastructure, limited space, complex load profiles, and owners who often wait until equipment fails before considering alternatives. Mike outlines why early evaluation matters and why every geothermal project must be designed around the building, geology, distribution system, operating needs, and financial horizon. In this episode, you will learn: Why geothermal HVAC is different from deep geothermal powerHow the ground can function as a stable heat source, heat sink, and thermal batteryWhy urban and occupied-building retrofits are becoming more feasibleHow Brightcore integrates engineering, drilling, controls, implementation, and performance monitoringWhat The Beresford project demonstrates about geothermal in a historic New York City buildingWhy one-directional cooling loads, including data centers and ice rinks, create new design challengesHow Local Law 97 is changing capital planning for New York City building ownersWhy education, perceived risk, financing, and timing remain major barriers to adoptionHow better building systems can reduce operating costs while improving comfort, air quality, and performanceMike offers a grounded view of the market. Geothermal can deliver major efficiency and emissions benefits, but it is not a universal, one-size-fits-all solution. The opportunity depends on sound engineering, realistic economics, thoughtful integration, and a willingness to evaluate options before an emergency replacement locks a building into another generation of legacy equipment. This episode is essential listening for professionals in commercial real estate, facilities, engineering, higher education, government, finance, climate policy, and renewable energy who want to understand how geothermal retrofits can move from niche technology to mainstream building infrastructure. Topics: geothermal heating and cooling, ground-source heat pumps, commercial building retrofits, building decarbonization, energy efficiency, urban geothermal, Local Law 97, thermal energy storage, HVAC electrification, Brightcore Energy Links: Mike Richter on LinkedIn Brightcore Energy's Website Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  4. 21 Aug

    Can Nuclear Energy Scale? Tony Roulstone on SMRs, Cost, and Repeatability

    Nuclear energy is having another moment. But enthusiasm alone will not create a nuclear renaissance. The bigger question is whether the industry can finally learn to deliver complex projects predictably, repeatedly, on time, and at a cost investors and utilities can accept. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, host Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, sits down with Tony Roulstone, Lecturer in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Cambridge and former Group Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Nuclear Engineering. Tony brings decades of experience spanning nuclear energy, aerospace, complex engineering programs, business transformation, and nuclear education. That perspective leads to a fascinating argument: the biggest breakthroughs nuclear needs may have less to do with reactor physics and more to do with how reactors are manufactured, financed, constructed, and repeated. The conversation begins with a Rolls-Royce aerospace failure that left Boeing 747s waiting for engines. The technology problem ultimately exposed a deeper organizational problem. Tony explains why that lesson still matters for nuclear projects today. From there, Wes and Tony examine one of nuclear energy's fundamental challenges. Building a large reactor can resemble manufacturing an aircraft in a field. Thousands of people, intricate supply chains, enormous documentation requirements, specialized inspections, and long construction timelines make repetition and productivity incredibly difficult. That is where small modular reactors, or SMRs, could change the equation. Tony explains why smaller does not automatically mean cheaper and why the real economic opportunity behind SMRs depends on three principles: Standardization: Stop redesigning the product for every customer and site.Modularization: Move significantly more construction into controlled factory environments.Production learning: Build repeatedly enough for teams, suppliers, and processes to improve from one unit to the next.The discussion also explores advanced nuclear reactors, including high-temperature gas reactors, liquid-metal systems, and molten salt concepts, along with what new reactor technologies could mean for safety and industrial applications. Tony and Wes also confront nuclear's most persistent public challenge: trust. They examine lessons from Chernobyl, the importance of organizational safety culture, and why modern nuclear safety cannot be understood solely through the industry's historical accidents. Finally, they tackle the false choice between nuclear energy and renewable energy. Deep decarbonization will require an entire energy system, including electricity, industrial heat, transportation, storage, renewables, and firm low-carbon generation. The real question is not which technology wins. It is how these resources work together. In this episode: Why technically brilliant projects can still failWhat aerospace can teach nuclear about systems engineeringWhy large nuclear construction struggles with productivityThe real economics behind small modular reactorsWhy SMRs require fleet deployment and repeatable productionStandardization, modularization, and manufacturing learningAdvanced nuclear reactor technologies and their potentialNuclear safety, Chernobyl, and public confidencePrivate capital and the growing nuclear ecosystemWhy nuclear and renewables should not be treated as opposing campsWhat nuclear must accomplish by 2035 to prove it can truly scaleThe ultimate test is simple: nuclear must become predictable. If the industry can turn extraordinary engineering projects into repeatable industrial products that arrive when promised and near the cost promised, nuclear could play a much larger role in the global energy transition. Links: Tony Roulstone on LinkedIn Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  5. 14 Aug

    Bryan Hassin: There Is No Energy Transition Without a Materials Transition

    The energy transition is usually framed around generation, storage, transmission, permitting, and capital. But one of the biggest constraints may be hiding in plain sight: the physical materials required to build everything. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, sits down with Bryan Guido Hassin, Co-Founder and CEO of DexMat, to explore why the future of electrification, renewable energy, AI data centers, grid expansion, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing may depend on a fundamental materials transition.  Bryan brings an unusually broad perspective to the conversation. His career has spanned software entrepreneurship, energy technology, climate innovation, venture ecosystems, and deep tech. He also co-founded Third Derivative, where exposure to hundreds of climate technologies helped reveal a recurring challenge: nearly every major electrification pathway depends on rapidly scaling conductive materials such as copper, while supply, performance, and production constraints continue to intensify.   That realization ultimately helped lead Bryan to DexMat and Galvorn, an advanced carbon material made from aligned carbon nanotubes. DexMat is developing Galvorn for applications where conductivity alone is not enough and properties like low weight, strength, flexibility, heat dissipation, corrosion resistance, and durability become critical.  In this conversation, Wes and Bryan explore: Why copper could become a major bottleneck for electrification and renewable energy growthHow AI data centers add another layer of pressure to materials demandWhy mining and recycling more copper may help, but may not solve the full problemHow Galvorn is made and why carbon nanotube alignment is the key breakthroughWhere Galvorn can compete with copper today and where copper still has advantagesWhy conductivity must be evaluated alongside weight, heat, strength, frequency, and system designHow wet fiber spinning could help advanced carbon materials scale economicallyThe qualification hurdles behind aerospace, defense, medical, grid, and wire-and-cable adoptionWhy hard-tech commercialization requires manufacturers, investors, policymakers, and customers to move togetherWhat investors often misunderstand about materials startupsHow entirely new materials can unlock designs that were previously impossibleBryan also shares the personal journey behind the work, including the influence of Nobel laureate Rick Smalley at Rice University and how a career spent studying climate innovation ultimately brought him full circle into advanced materials.  The bigger idea is simple but consequential: building a cleaner, more electrified economy requires more than changing how we generate energy. It may require changing the materials civilization is built on. For anyone working in renewable energy, grid infrastructure, AI infrastructure, electrification, climate tech, advanced materials, deep tech, or industrial innovation, this episode offers a very different lens on what could determine the speed of the energy transition. Links: Bryan Hassin on LinkedIn DexMat's Website Info on Galvorn Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  6. 7 Aug

    Why Energy Projects Fail: The Owner’s Role in Cost, Risk, and Delivery

    Major energy projects do not fail simply because of weak contractors, poor controls, or the wrong contract structure. They fail when owners misunderstand their role. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, sits down with Gary Fischer, Executive Director of the Project Production Institute and a longtime capital projects leader who spent more than 40 years at Chevron. Gary brings a rare perspective shaped by work across engineering, construction, operations, benchmarking, major project leadership, and enterprise project-system design. After helping architect Chevron’s project management system, he came to a difficult conclusion: even sophisticated project frameworks can produce disappointing results when they ignore how work actually flows through a production system. The conversation centers on one critical idea: capital projects are not products an owner can simply buy. They are production systems that must be actively designed, led, and integrated. Wes and Gary explore the difference between owners who behave like buyers and owners who behave like builders, along with the responsibilities that cannot be outsourced. These include defining the business outcome, setting requirements, managing stakeholders, making timely decisions, shaping the contracting strategy, and retaining accountability for the final result. They also examine why lump-sum EPC contracts do not eliminate owner risk, how traditional metrics can reward excessive work in process, and why adding more people to a delayed project can sometimes make performance worse. Gary shares lessons from major LNG, refinery, offshore, and supply chain environments, including how production control improved collaboration, reduced manpower, accelerated delivery, and helped teams complete more work with fewer resources. The discussion also applies directly to renewable energy, battery storage, hydrogen, transmission, data centers, and other rapidly scaling infrastructure sectors. As companies deploy capital into new technologies and unfamiliar project environments, owner capability may become one of the most important competitive advantages. In this episode: Why project failure is often misdiagnosedWhat separates a capable owner from a passive buyerWhy contractors cannot own the business outcomeHow contracts can obscure risk without truly transferring itWhy production science changes project decision-makingHow excessive work in process delays completionWhy supply chains should be managed as connected production systemsHow rigid stage gates can encourage the wrong behaviorWhat leaders should evaluate before approving major capitalThe first steps organizations can take to strengthen owner capabilityThis episode is essential listening for CEOs, project sponsors, investors, developers, EPC leaders, and anyone responsible for delivering complex energy and infrastructure projects. Gary Fischer is Executive Director of the Project Production Institute and previously held senior project leadership roles at Chevron, including responsibility for Chevron’s project management system and capital project capability. Links: Project Production Institute Website & Resources Gary Fischer on LinkedIn Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  7. 31 Jul

    Lisa Jacobson on the Race to Power America’s Next Era

    America’s energy system has entered a new phase. After years of relatively flat electricity demand, the country is now facing sustained growth driven by data centers, industrial expansion, electrification, reshoring, aging infrastructure, and rising resilience needs. The challenge is no longer just how quickly the U.S. can decarbonize. It is how quickly the country can build enough power while protecting reliability, affordability, and long-term emissions progress. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, welcomes back Lisa Jacobson, President of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, to unpack the findings of the 2026 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook. Lisa explains why this moment is different from previous periods of load growth, how urgency could help break years of infrastructure inertia, and why no single technology can meet the challenge alone. She makes the case for a broad portfolio that includes renewable energy, storage, natural gas, nuclear, energy efficiency, demand flexibility, sustainable transportation, and smarter use of existing grid assets. The conversation also examines the growing impact of large electricity users. Data centers are an important part of the demand story, but the episode goes far beyond AI. Wes and Lisa explore what rising load means for utilities, regulators, communities, manufacturers, households, and businesses across the country. A central question runs throughout the episode: Who pays for the infrastructure required to power America’s next era? Lisa discusses the need to protect households and small businesses from unfair cost allocation, the role large customers can play in funding grid upgrades or bringing new power resources, and how regulators can evaluate projects based on local capacity, flexibility, community benefit, and long-term risk. The episode also covers the technologies being deployed now. Solar and battery storage continue to lead new capacity additions because they can often move quickly and compete economically. At the same time, firm resources, existing nuclear assets, natural gas, long-duration storage, efficiency, virtual power plants, microgrids, and demand response all have distinct roles to play. Wes and Lisa also examine: Why energy efficiency should be treated as infrastructureHow smart meters and flexible demand can reduce grid strainWhat utilities and regulators should ask before approving major new loadsWhy storage is becoming more important to grid operationsHow corporate clean energy procurement is reshaping the marketWhat policy uncertainty means for real projects and investment decisionsWhich technologies emerged stronger from recent tax and policy changesWhy speed, cost, reliability, and sustainability must be solved togetherLisa closes with a practical message for governors, regulators, and policymakers: align economic development with reliable, affordable, and clean energy, then give the private sector the market signals needed to build. This episode is a clear-eyed look at the next chapter of the U.S. power system and what it will take to meet rising demand without losing sight of consumers, communities, or climate goals. Links: 2026 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook Lisa Jacobson on LinkedIn BCSE's Website Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

  8. 24 Jul

    Kellie Macpherson on NERC Compliance, Cybersecurity, and Grid Reliability

    Renewable energy has scaled rapidly. Now the industry faces a more demanding question: can solar, wind, and storage operate with the discipline, security, and reliability expected of critical infrastructure? In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, speaks with Kellie Macpherson, COO of Compliance + Security at Radian Generation and a board member at SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association). Kellie brings deep experience across NERC compliance, cybersecurity, commissioning, audits, control centers, and renewable asset operations. Her perspective is shaped by a career spent bridging the gap between traditional grid operations and the fast-moving renewable energy sector. The conversation explores why compliance is not simply paperwork, how reliability affects real communities, and why the industry’s long-term credibility depends on operating assets as well as it builds them. Wes and Kellie also break down the significance of NERC Category 2 registration for inverter-based resources. They discuss which solar, wind, storage, and hybrid assets may now fall under increased oversight, why registration alone is not the same as being audit-ready, and what owner-operators should prioritize if they are behind. Cybersecurity is another central theme. Modern renewable plants rely heavily on remote access, third-party vendors, software, connected devices, and operational technology. That creates efficiency, but also expands the attack surface. Kellie explains why commissioning is one of the most vulnerable stages of a project and why access management, patching, physical security, and documented controls need to be built in before commercial operation. The episode also examines the leadership side of compliance. Mature programs require executive attention, clear accountability, employee training, operational evidence, and a company culture that understands the financial, reputational, and reliability risks of getting it wrong. In this episode: Why grid reliability became personal for Kellie early in lifeHow renewable energy became central to bulk power system reliabilityWhat NERC Category 2 means for solar, wind, storage, and hybrid assetsThe difference between registration and true audit readinessWhy cybersecurity should be treated as an operational priority nowThe most common security risks during commissioningWarning signs that a project may face future compliance problemsWhy inverter settings, access controls, patching, and evidence matterHow executives and boards should think about compliance riskWhat trusted renewable operators will do differently over the next three yearsAs electricity demand grows and renewable assets become more essential to the grid, the companies that earn long-term trust will be the ones that combine speed with discipline, growth with resilience, and innovation with operational accountability. Links: Kellie Macpherson on LinkedIn Radian Generation's Website Kellie's Power Play Newsletter Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.comhttps://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/https://leegroupsearch.com/

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Welcome to Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy, a podcast dedicated to unveiling the stories, insights, and strategies of the most influential leaders in the renewable and clean energy sector. Our mission is to offer a platform where the voices of innovators, pioneers, and visionaries in renewable energy are amplified, sharing their journey, challenges, and triumphs with a global audience.

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