Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy Podcast

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.

Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Wes Ashworth, with 122 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Wes Ashworth hosts Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy Podcast, a business show with 122 episodes published.

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  Episode #123

  Reengineering Sunlight: Hunter McDaniel on Quantum Dots, Solar, and Scaling UbiQD

  Oct 2, 202645 minS1

  What if one of the biggest opportunities in clean energy is not discovering a new energy source, but making the sunlight already reaching us more useful? In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy , Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search , sits down with Hunter McDaniel, Founder and CEO of UbiQD , to explore how quantum dots are moving from advanced materials research into real-world applications in agriculture, solar, and large-scale manufacturing. Hunter’s path began in physics, electrical engineering, and materials science, eventually leading to a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and postdoctoral research at Los Alamos National Laboratory. What started as highly specialized work in semiconductor nanocrystals became the foundation for UbiQD, a company built around a simple but powerful idea: use nanoscale materials to control how light behaves. Wes and Hunter break down quantum dots in practical terms, including how changing particle size can change the color of light they absorb and emit. That capability creates a platform for spectrum engineering, where sunlight can be tuned before it reaches a plant or solar cell. In agriculture, UbiQD’s UbiGro technology shifts portions of sunlight toward wavelengths that can improve plant performance. Hunter discusses greenhouse trials across multiple regions, what growers actually care about, and why the future may involve different light recipes for different crops. The conversation then moves into solar, where the scale becomes dramatically larger. Hunter explains how quantum dots can target underutilized portions of the solar spectrum, why even modest performance improvements can create meaningful economic value across millions of panels, and what has to be proven before a major solar manufacturer will trust a new material inside a product expected to operate outdoors for decades. They also explore UbiQD’s expansion through its acquisition of BlueDot Photonics technology, including the emerging concept of quantum cutting, where one high-energy photon can potentially produce nearly two lower-energy photons better suited for solar conversion. But the heart of the episode is not just the science. It is the challenge of turning science into industry. Hunter shares what changes when a company moves from making small research batches to operating reactors, managing supply chains, qualifying materials with customers, building manufacturing capacity, and preparing for production measured in tons rather than grams. UbiQD’s recent growth, capital raises, expanded Los Alamos footprint, and long-term solar supply ambitions illustrate just how different deep-tech scale-up is from traditional software growth. This episode covers: How quantum dots change the way light behaves Why spectrum engineering matters in both agriculture and solar How greenhouse light manipulation can influence crop performance Why small efficiency gains can matter enormously at utility scale The difference between standard fluorescence and quantum cutting What it takes to prove durability for materials expected to last decades How an R&D company becomes a manufacturing company Where promising national-lab technology can get lost before commercialization Why advanced materials may play a major role in the next wave of clean energy innovation For anyone interested in solar, advanced materials, climate technology, deep-tech commercialization, or the future of domestic manufacturing, this conversation offers a rare look at what it actually takes to move a scientific breakthrough from the lab into infrastructure-scale deployment. Links: Hunter McDaniel on LinkedIn UbiQD's Website UbiGrow's Website Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.com https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/ https://leegroupsearch.com/

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  Episode #122

  Why Nuclear's Moment Is Now: Stefano Buono, CEO of newcleo

  Sep 25, 202644 minS1

  Why Nuclear's Moment Is Now: Stefano Buono, CEO of newcleo For newcleo founder and CEO Stefano Buono, nuclear energy's next chapter has been more than 30 years in the making. Now, rising electricity demand, energy security concerns, and changing attitudes toward nuclear are creating an opening for ideas he began pursuing in the 1990s. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy, host Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, sits down with Buono to explore what makes this nuclear moment different and what it will take to turn that momentum into commercial projects. A physicist and entrepreneur, Buono previously founded Advanced Accelerator Applications, the nuclear medicine company acquired by Novartis for approximately $3.9 billion. He shares how that experience prepared him to return to his original ambition: developing a different approach to nuclear energy. Today, newcleo is developing lead-cooled fast reactors designed to use recycled nuclear fuel. Buono explains the technology in accessible terms, including why useful energy remains in spent fuel, how liquid lead supports the company's approach to passive safety, and why the economics of recycling matter. The conversation also tackles the difficult questions: plutonium security, the history of costly U.S. fuel projects, regulatory approvals, and the challenge of financing and building an entire reactor and fuel supply chain. In this episode: Why decarbonization, energy independence, and AI-driven electricity demand are reshaping nuclear's opportunity. How lead-cooled fast reactors differ from conventional nuclear plants. What recycled mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel could mean for fuel supply and nuclear waste. newcleo's proposed work with Oklo and its ambitions at Savannah River. Why industrial heat and manufacturing matter alongside data centers. The milestones that will show whether newcleo is moving toward commercial deployment. Buono's advice for founders building technologies that take decades to reach the market. Release update: This conversation was recorded ahead of newcleo's Nasdaq debut. The company subsequently completed its business combination with NewHold, securing approximately $247 million in gross proceeds, and began trading under NWCL on September 22, 2026. For energy leaders, founders, and anyone curious about advanced nuclear, this episode connects the science to the practical work of bringing new energy projects to life. Subscribe to Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode with someone following nuclear's next chapter. Links: Stefano Buono on LinkedIn newcleo's Website newcleo's Nasdaq Listing and $247 Million Funding Announcement newcleo Targets US Expansion with Nasdaq Debut, AI-Driven Power Demand Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.com https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/ https://leegroupsearch.com/

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  Episode #121

  Michelle Urben, The Synergos Fund: Capital, Fuel and Nuclear’s Next Era

  Sep 18, 202642 minS1

  The nuclear renaissance is about far more than building reactors. It is also about capital, fuel security, recycling, infrastructure, commercialization, supply chains, workforce, and whether the energy system can scale fast enough to meet a new era of electricity demand. In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy , Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search sits down with Michelle Urben, Managing and General Partner at The Synergos Fund , to explore what it will actually take to finance and build the next generation of energy infrastructure. Michelle brings more than three decades of experience across banking, asset management, investor relations, and venture capital. Her path from the Philippines and an oil-industry family to Wall Street and deep-tech investing gives her a unique perspective on energy affordability, energy security, and the role patient capital can play in solving foundational infrastructure challenges. The conversation begins with a fundamental investing question: Is traditional venture capital structured for technologies that may require years of technical validation, regulation, demonstration, and infrastructure before reaching full commercialization? Michelle explains how The Synergos Fund approaches that challenge through milestone-driven investing, long-term alignment, active participation, and a focus on durable companies across energy, manufacturing, food, and health. From there, the discussion moves into one of the most overlooked pieces of nuclear energy: the fuel cycle. Michelle shares why nuclear recycling company Curio became such an important part of her transition into deep tech and why she believes spent nuclear fuel should increasingly be viewed as a strategic energy resource rather than simply as waste. The conversation explores fuel security, domestic nuclear supply chains, recycling, commercialization, and the broader ecosystem required around the reactor itself. Wes and Michelle also examine the massive increase in electricity demand being driven by AI, data centers, reshoring, and electrification. If generation, grid infrastructure, and behind-the-meter solutions cannot keep pace, the constraint may increasingly become access to reliable power. They also discuss Gate 5, a wastewater-to-energy technology in the Synergos portfolio, as an example of a broader investment philosophy: finding valuable energy resources in places the traditional system often treats as liabilities. But technology and capital alone will not build the next energy system. The episode closes with one of the most important constraints facing the industry: people. Engineers, welders, electricians, operators, technicians, construction professionals, regulators, and other skilled workers will all be necessary to turn ambitious energy plans into functioning infrastructure. In this episode: Why Michelle moved from traditional finance into nuclear and deep tech What patient capital should demand from infrastructure companies Why timing matters in private-market investing The nuclear fuel-cycle opportunity beyond the reactor Why spent nuclear fuel could become a strategic resource How AI and data centers are reshaping electricity demand Wastewater-to-energy and the opportunity behind overlooked resources Why commercialization requires strong operators, not just investors The workforce challenge facing nuclear and energy infrastructure Why the companies quietly building through difficult problems may ultimately shape the next energy era For investors, founders, energy executives, and anyone thinking seriously about the future of nuclear power and energy infrastructure, this episode offers a much broader framework for understanding what the next energy system will actually require. Links: Michelle Urben on LinkedIn The Synergos Fund Website Curio's Website Episode 89 with Ed McGinnis of Curio Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/ Email: wes@leegroupsearch.com https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/ https://leegroupsearch.com/

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  Episode #120

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

  Sep 11, 202649 minS1

  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.com https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/ https://leegroupsearch.com/

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  Episode #118

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

  Aug 28, 202649 minS1

  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 power How the ground can function as a stable heat source, heat sink, and thermal battery Why urban and occupied-building retrofits are becoming more feasible How Brightcore integrates engineering, drilling, controls, implementation, and performance monitoring What The Beresford project demonstrates about geothermal in a historic New York City building Why one-directional cooling loads, including data centers and ice rinks, create new design challenges How Local Law 97 is changing capital planning for New York City building owners Why education, perceived risk, financing, and timing remain major barriers to adoption How better building systems can reduce operating costs while improving comfort, air quality, and performance Mike 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.com https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/ https://leegroupsearch.com/

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