Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy Podcast

What happens to electric vehicle batteries after they come off the road is quickly becoming one of the most important questions in energy.
In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth sits down with Freeman Hall, President of B2U Storage Solutions, to explore how second-life EV batteries are transforming from a perceived waste problem into a scalable infrastructure opportunity.
Freeman brings a rare combination of experience across renewable energy investing, utility-scale solar development, and now battery storage innovation. After helping scale over 100 MW of solar projects and working at the forefront of early solar adoption, he is once again operating ahead of the curve, this time in battery lifecycle management.
At B2U, Freeman and his team are pioneering a fundamentally different approach to energy storage. Instead of dismantling EV batteries, they deploy them in their original form, using proprietary controls and software to unlock additional years of value in stationary storage applications. This approach significantly reduces costs while maintaining performance, creating a new category of infrastructure that challenges traditional assumptions about battery end-of-life.
This conversation goes far beyond technology. It dives into the real drivers of scale: capital structure, risk perception, market design, and the long process of proving bankability in a new asset class.
You’ll hear how B2U:
 Identified the economic opportunity behind second-life batteries early 
 Built a proprietary system to avoid costly repurposing processes 
 Proved reliability through years of real-world operating data 
 Navigated skepticism around safety, performance, and longevity 
 Structured a new investment model to unlock scalable growth 
Freeman also shares insights on the evolving energy landscape, including the growing demand for electricity driven by electrification and AI, the role of storage in stabilizing renewable-heavy grids, and why repurposing will become a critical link in the battery value chain.
As the industry grapples with supply chain constraints, policy shifts, and the need for more resilient infrastructure, this episode offers a clear look at how innovation actually reaches commercial scale.
If you want to understand where energy storage is heading and what it takes to build confidence in something entirely new, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.
Links: 
Freeman Hall on LinkedIn
B2U Storage Solutions' Website
Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/
Email: [email protected]
https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
https://leegroupsearch.com/

In Episode 95 of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth sits down with Salim Rahemtulla, President and CEO of PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp., for a grounded, real-world conversation on hydrogen, infrastructure, and what it actually takes to build in a volatile market.
With a background as a U.S. Naval Officer and over $1 billion in infrastructure projects delivered, Salim brings operational discipline and strategic clarity to one of the most misunderstood sectors in energy.
This episode moves beyond the hype cycle and into execution.
In this episode, we cover:
How Salim’s military background shaped his approach to risk, systems thinking, and decision-making in hydrogen
Why infrastructure success depends on stakeholder alignment, permitting strategy, and long-term operational planning
What most cleantech founders underestimate when navigating bureaucracy and building physical assets
The reality of raising capital during market downturns and how to maintain conviction through uncertainty
Lessons from navigating failed partnerships, shifting investor sentiment, and multi-year capital challenges
Why resilience and team alignment are critical when building in emerging energy markets
 The strategic pivot into data center backup power and why it unlocked new investor interest
The difference between hydrogen hype and real market demand across heavy industry and energy systems
Common misconceptions around hydrogen safety, cost, and scalability
Why on-site hydrogen production can eliminate logistics costs and improve economic viability
The role hydrogen already plays in industries like ammonia, refining, aerospace, and chemicals
Where hydrogen has the greatest decarbonization potential, including steel, cement, and maritime
Why hydrogen is not just a bridge technology but a long-term pillar of the energy system
The importance of narrative, communication, and education in scaling clean energy solutions
This episode is ultimately about resilience, discipline, and clarity of mission. It is a candid look at what survives when markets shift, capital tightens, and only the most grounded operators continue building.
If you are working in clean energy, infrastructure, or climate tech, this conversation offers practical insight into how real progress gets made, especially when the path forward is not obvious.
Links: 
Salim Rahemtulla on LinkedIn
PowerTap's Website
Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/
Email: [email protected]
https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
https://leegroupsearch.com/

Battery energy storage is rapidly becoming one of the most critical pieces of modern energy infrastructure. But behind the clean white containers sitting quietly on grid sites lies one of the most complex operational challenges in the energy industry.
In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, host Wes Ashworth sits down with Lennart Hinrichs, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Americas at TWAICE, a leading battery analytics platform helping operators improve the safety, performance, and profitability of battery energy storage systems.
Lennart has been part of TWAICE’s journey since the company’s early days, helping build the platform as the battery storage industry evolved from small pilot projects to gigawatt-scale portfolios. His work focuses on helping energy companies turn massive volumes of battery data into actionable insights that improve operations and prevent costly problems.
As battery storage scales across global energy markets, Lennart explains why many systems underperform once deployed. The challenge is rarely a single component failure. Instead, it is the complex interaction between thousands of battery cells, control systems, software, and operational processes.
In the conversation, Lennart breaks down why the industry often misunderstands battery storage. From the outside, a battery container looks simple. In reality, a single storage system can generate billions of data points every day and requires sophisticated analytics to identify problems early and maintain performance.
The discussion explores how small issues inside a battery system can quietly escalate. A handful of faulty cells or imbalances within a system can significantly reduce usable capacity, impact market participation, and lead to lost revenue if operators cannot quickly identify root causes.
Lennart also shares real-world examples of how analytics can transform battery operations. In one case, identifying a small number of defective cells restored millions of dollars in annual revenue for a storage project. In another, predictive insights helped operators move from reactive firefighting to proactive maintenance.
The episode also dives into broader industry challenges, including scaling battery portfolios, managing complex vendor relationships, navigating long-term service agreements, and dealing with the growing shortage of talent across the energy storage sector.
Looking ahead, Lennart discusses how rising electricity demand, the growth of AI-driven data centers, and the expansion of renewable generation will dramatically increase the need for energy storage.
For operators, investors, and developers, the message is clear: running batteries successfully requires more than installing hardware. It requires treating storage as long-term infrastructure and building the operational intelligence needed to manage it at scale.
If you want a deeper understanding of how battery storage actually works once projects move beyond pilot scale, this conversation offers a grounded look inside the systems powering the energy transition.
Links:
Lennart Hinrichs on LinkedIn
TWAICE's Website
Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/
Email: [email protected]
https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
https://leegroupsearch.com/

The renewable energy industry is entering a new phase. Solar alone is no longer the story.
In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, host Wes Ashworth sits down with Chris Williamson, Director of Business Development at Polaron Solar Energy, to explore how the energy transition is evolving from simple generation to intelligent, integrated systems.
Chris has spent decades working across the renewable energy landscape, from early off-grid solar installations to shaping national solar training standards and leading global energy projects. His career spans technical design, workforce education, international development, and commercial energy strategy. 
Today, he helps guide Polaron’s expansion as a vertically integrated energy company focused on solar, energy storage systems, EV charging, and advanced grid technologies.
This conversation dives deep into how renewables are maturing and why the next chapter of the energy transition will be defined by intelligence, flexibility, and system design rather than just generation capacity.
Chris explains why energy storage is becoming essential infrastructure, how artificial intelligence is transforming energy management, and why solar is evolving into what he calls modular power. 
The discussion also explores the real-world challenges of building renewable energy systems globally. Having worked across Canada, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, Chris shares how energy access means very different things depending on the market, from reducing electricity costs in developed countries to enabling education, water access, and economic growth in developing regions. 
The episode also challenges conventional thinking around incentives and policy. Chris argues that the renewable industry has matured to the point where technology and economics can increasingly stand on their own, and that the next focus should be smarter grid design, decentralized energy systems, and resilient infrastructure.
Looking ahead, Chris sees enormous opportunity in the convergence of solar, batteries, artificial intelligence, EV charging, and decentralized power networks. Together, these technologies are transforming energy from a centralized commodity into a flexible, intelligent service delivered closer to where it is consumed.
For anyone working in clean energy, grid innovation, or energy infrastructure, this episode offers a clear look at how the industry is evolving and what it will take to design systems that actually work in the real world.
In This Episode We Discuss:
How Chris transitioned from electrician to global clean energy leader
The creation of Canada’s first national solar training standards
Why solar companies are evolving into full energy companies
The growing role of battery storage in modern energy systems
How AI and machine learning are optimizing energy production and consumption
The future of decentralized grids and modular power systems
Why renewable incentives may become less necessary as the industry matures
Emerging technologies that could reshape global electricity infrastructure
If you want to understand where renewable energy is headed next, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.
Links: 
Chris Williamson on LinkedIn
Polaron's Website
Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/
Email: [email protected]
https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
https://leegroupsearch.com/

The clean energy transition is creating one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time. But unlocking its full potential requires expanding access to the financial tools that make participation possible.
In this powerful episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, Wes Ashworth sits down with Doug Coward, Founder and Director of National Expansion and Partnerships at the Solar and Energy Loan Fund, known as SELF. As one of the first nonprofit green banks and Community Development Financial Institutions in the United States, SELF is helping ensure that energy efficiency, resilience, and solar power are accessible to working families and underserved communities.
Doug’s journey began in Florida public service, where he served 12 years as a county commissioner. A proposed coal plant in the Sunshine State became the catalyst for a bigger vision. Rather than waiting for top-down change, Doug focused on building a new financing model from the ground up.
Today, nearly half of Americans who apply for loans are denied. That financing gap affects everything from hurricane recovery to home efficiency upgrades. SELF addresses this challenge with a different underwriting approach based on ability to pay, not credit scores.
The impact is measurable and meaningful:
$63 million deployed in clean energy and resilience loans
Nearly 4,500 homes retrofitted
13,000+ people positively impacted
70 percent of borrowers from low and moderate income households
Default rate under 2 percent
Doug shares powerful stories of homeowners rebuilding after hurricanes, seniors accessing affordable roof repairs, and global crowdfunding efforts that mobilized support in hours rather than weeks.
We also explore:
How green banks function as implementation tools for local governments
Why financial inclusion is essential to scaling clean energy adoption
The role of contractor vetting and consumer protection in building trust
The economic opportunity of domestic solar manufacturing
SELF’s plug and play national expansion model now active in 17 states
This conversation highlights how thoughtful financing structures can strengthen communities, create local jobs, reduce energy burdens, and build long-term resilience.
If you care about practical climate solutions that work at the household level, this episode offers both inspiration and a proven model.
Learn more about SELF
Explore Kiva’s impact investing platform
Doug Coward on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Green Giants for more conversations with the leaders building the renewable energy economy from the ground up.
Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/
Email: [email protected]
https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
https://leegroupsearch.com/