Episode 3: All About Batteries with Jill Pestana

Welcome to Episode 3 of The Battery Belt, the official podcast of the Georgia Network for Electric Mobility (GNEM). In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, host Gabrielle Pierre sits down with Jill Pestana—Founder & CEO of Pestana Solutions, battery scientist, educator, and creator of Across the Nanoverse. With 15+ years of experience and over a dozen patents in battery science, Jill is one of the most trusted voices demystifying how batteries actually work.

This episode goes straight to the foundation of the Battery Belt story: the chemistry powering the Southeast’s transformation into an electric mobility and manufacturing powerhouse. Jill breaks down what’s happening inside a battery, why lithium-ion became the dominant platform, and what determines charging speed, lifespan, and performance in everything from EVs to smartphones.

We also dig into the rapidly evolving world of next-generation chemistries—solid-state, LFP, sodium-ion, and more—and explore what’s real, what’s hype, and what’s most likely to define the next decade of innovation.

Listeners will learn about:
• What makes a battery a battery—chemically and functionally
• Why lithium-ion became central to EVs, consumer tech, and storage systems
• How batteries age, degrade, and lose capacity over time
• The promise and limitations of solid-state technology
• How emerging chemistries compare—and when they might reach the market

Part 1 sets the stage for understanding the science and innovation driving the Southeast’s growing leadership in energy storage and advanced manufacturing.

Next week in Part 2, Jill walks us through scaling innovation, grid storage, AI/data center demand, and the human side of building the Battery Belt. Don’t miss it!