Celebrating TAEBC’s 2024 accomplishments

By Cortney Piper, Executive Director 

Energy is ever present in our lives. We’ll always need it and we’ll always need it to be cleaner, safer, more secure, more efficient and more reliable – whether it’s electricity or transportation. 

Our latest economic impact report shows Tennessee’s advanced energy sector is a point of pride for all Tennesseans from Memphis to Mountain City, employing more than 420,000 Tennesseans throughout all 95 counties. TAEBC is honored to champion this sector of our economy, enhancing our leadership on a global stage and opening up exciting career opportunities for new generations of Tennesseeans.

Thanks to successive governors from Lamar Alexander to Phil Bredesen and Bill Lee, our state is poised to lead in every aspect of energy innovation and deployment.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee formed the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council to create a nuclear energy ecosystem and last year that group released a final report with recommendations on how we can seize the opportunity to become a global hub for the nuclear renaissance. 

Ford’s BlueOval City continues to progress in West Tennessee, releasing a $9M ‘Good Neighbor Plan’ for areas surrounding BlueOval City. In December, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs announced the closing of a direct loan of up to $9.63 billion to BlueOval SK to bolster its construction of three electric vehicle battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. BlueOval SK’s three plants are expected to create a total of approximately 5,000 construction jobs in Tennessee.

TVA continued its Integrated Resource Plan public process in 2024. TAEBC is honored to serve on the TVA IRP Working Group to inform how the nation’s largest public power provider will serve the needs of the Tennessee Valley.

In the fall, two TAEBC members announced a groundbreaking partnership in decarbonization. Google announced a partnership with Holocene to buy carbon removal credits at a record-low $100 per ton, with delivery by the early 2030s. Holocene’s innovative direct air capture (DAC) technology extracts CO2 from the air for storage or reuse, aiming to reduce costs with Google’s support and U.S. tax incentives. The deal will remove 100,000 tons of CO2, helping make DAC more affordable and scalable. 

TAEBC: Champion of Tennessee’s advanced energy economy 

I was awarded the prestigious Tennessee Renewable Energy & Economic Development Council (TREEDC) Environmental Legacy Award at the TREEDC Conference in Cookeville. This honor recognizes remarkable achievements in advancing energy and sustainable practices across Tennessee.

Thank you to TREEDC for recognizing TAEBC as a driving force in positioning Tennessee as a leader in the advanced energy sector and our efforts to foster collaboration between public and private entities, support economic development, and promote innovation in energy technologies.

“Cortney Piper is Tennessee’s top ambassador for clean energy. I have admired her many accomplishments over the years which includes developing startups, organizing opportunities in clean energy forums, supporting workforce development and building strong industry partnerships” said UT MTAS Consultant /TREEDC Director Warren Nevad.

TAEBC prides itself on being a membership-driven organization. In 2024 our membership roster almost topped 80, adding 15 new members spanning the state’s advanced energy ecosystem – from nuclear, solar, automotive, workforce development, manufacturing, and more.

One of the benefits TAEBC provides its members is our events. I hope you were one of the 500+ people who attended our 2024 events, including the 2024 Annual Meeting and Opportunities in Energy – both bigger than ever. 

At Opportunities in Energy,  we awarded AESSEAL’s North American Headquarters with the 2024 Thomas B. Ballard Advanced Energy Leadership Award, which honors exemplary leadership and success in championing, connecting, and strengthening Tennessee’s advanced energy economy. 

AESSEAL was selected for the award based on its pioneering solar + storage sustainable manufacturing project at its headquarters in Rockford, Tennessee. Representing one of the first large-scale solar + storage installations for private industry in Tennessee, AESSEAL, in partnership with Knoxville-based Solar Alliance, constructed a state-of-the-art solar + energy storage system designed to enhance energy resilience and maximize clean energy use. Commissioned in 2024, the 526-kilowatt solar PV system, paired with a 500-kilowatt battery system, provides backup power and increases the self-consumption of the solar energy generated onsite for the entire 50,000 square-foot AESSEAL facility located in the Stock Creek Development Center, in Blount County. 

I had the chance to dive into their groundbreaking solar + storage project on Episode 28 of Energizing Tennessee, thanks to the support of Solar Alliance. I spoke with AESSEAL’s Chris Staackmann and Solar Alliance’s Brian Timmons and Jon Hamilton about the project. 

We also expanded our digital reach. Energizing Tennessee released 13 podcast episodes. We grew our email subscribers to over 3,100 and social media following to nearly 4,500. 

Continue reading to see the other ways we fulfilled each of our four commitments to our members. 

1. Help Tennessee become the #1 location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs

The advanced energy (AE) sector in Tennessee grows faster than the overall state economy, employs 420,632 Tennesseans, and includes 22,554 businesses that contribute almost $56 billion to the state’s GDP, according to the fourth edition of the Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report released by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) at its 11th annual Opportunities in Energy. Data and analysis in the report show remarkable growth in this sector of the economy as well as demonstrating the vital role Tennessee plays in this $2 trillion global market. Funding for the report was provided by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Thank you to economists at The Baker School for Public Policy and Public Affairs at UTK for crunching the data.

For over a decade, advanced energy in Tennessee has continued to grow faster than the state’s overall economy. From Former Governor and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander’s recruitment of automotive OEM’s like Nissan in the 1980s, to Silicon Ranch becoming one of the largest independent solar power producers in the world, to our current dominance in electric vehicles, batteries, and advanced nuclear technology, Tennessee’s leaders and our world-class research institutions and manufacturing facilities have positioned us to become the number one location in the Southeast for energy innovation and high-quality jobs.

In addition to compelling data, CEOs from Orano, TVA and Silicon Ranch Corporation spoke about the sector at TAEBC’s Opportunities in Energy event and agreed advanced energy gives Tennesseans cause for optimism, especially East Tennesseans.

As Jeff Lyash, President and CEO of TVA, said, “I am not sure there is another state in the nation that has positioned itself as well as Tennessee around advanced energy. The question is how effectively are we going to leverage this over the next couple of decades, because we can really accelerate and become the advanced energy center for the country.”

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) hosted its 2024 Annual Meeting at the Schneider Electric Nashville Hub on March 26, gathering TAEBC members and industry stakeholders to celebrate Tennessee’s growing advanced energy economy.  Several appointed members of Governor Lee’s Tennessee Nuclear Advisory Council discussed how the council is driving new nuclear energy innovation and investment across the state. Dr. Hash Hashemian, Ph.D., President and CEO of AMS; Don Moul, Executive Vice President and COO of TVA; and Lang Wiseman, Shareholder at Baker Donelson, participated in the discussion. The panel was moderated by Tracy Boatner, President of the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC).

2. Support TVA and local power companies’ efforts to become energy companies of the future

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) formally submitted comments to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) regarding its 2025 Draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). TVA’s IRP serves as a compass for how to best meet forecasted energy demand in the Tennessee Valley region in the coming decades. TAEBC also serves as a member of TVA’s IRP Working Group, a diverse group of stakeholders that meets regularly to provide comprehensive feedback on the IRP.  

Most notably, TAEBC’s comments included recommendations for TVA to prioritize public-private partnerships, not only to meet its decarbonization goals but also meet growing needs for energy across the Valley, particularly the demand for carbon-free energy by the private sector, while minimizing impacts to TVA’s debt burden. 

Joe Hoagland, Vice President, Innovation and Research at TVA​ was the featured presenter at our annual summer TVA Lunch & Learn event. We featured Joe’s insights into energy innovation in a Q&A for the TAEBC website.

On Energizing Tennessee, I spoke with Michael McCall, TVA’s VP of Environment and Sustainability, about TVA’s 2023 Sustainability Report and its shift from compliance to stewardship – driving progress in emissions reduction, biodiversity, water conservation, and energy efficiency as a model for others nationwide. I also sat down with Charles Sims, Director of the Center for Energy, Transportation and Environmental Policy, to discuss the key findings from the Valley Pathways Study, conducted by TVA and the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, and how to build a competitive, clean economy in the Tennessee Valley. 

3. Foster the growth of Tennessee’s advanced energy technologies and startups

Last year, The Energy Network, run in partnership with Launch Tennessee, served 31 companies that raised $49M in total capital and created or retained 225 jobs. 

Over the summer, our partners at the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, a 12-week program at the University of Tennessee Research Park, hosted its latest cohort of 13 companies (including the most recent ORNL Innovation Crossroad cohort). They were paired with mentors from TAEBC’s Energy Network to develop their businesses and gave their final pitches at Opportunities in Energy. 

TVA awarded $10,000 to AluminAiry, a startup in the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, at the conclusion of the pitch session. The company is developing aluminum-air battery technology, which uses aluminum as a primary fuel source, avoids reliance on rare earth elements and supports grid resiliency. Through Spark and the Energy Network, TVA identifies startups aligned with its technology gaps, works with them on TVA-focused demonstration proposals and supports their technological advancements. The award to AluminAiry reflects TVA’s commitment to fostering next-generation energy innovation.

2024 was a pivotal year for advanced energy technologies and startups. Through four episodes of the Energizing Tennessee podcast, we highlighted the resources and opportunities helping startups grow and thrive in our state. I spoke with key innovators, including Lilly Tench, Director of the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park, about the Spark Cleantech Accelerator program and Mitchell Ishmael, co-founder and CTO of Shift Thermal, who shared insights into his entrepreneurial journey and experience from the Innovation Crossroads cohort. I also sat down with Anca Timofte, CEO and co-founder of Holocene, where we discussed the importance of partnerships with companies like Google and the role of government and utilities in supporting energy innovation. Additionally, I spoke with Tasia Malakasis, CEO of The Company Lab (CO.LAB), along with Jonathan Lamer, Founder, and Alvaro Macias, CTO of Moduly, a Canadian cleantech startup that found its new home in Tennessee through CO.LAB’s accelerator program.

TAEBC and the UT Spark Innovation Center also partnered with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) to provide Tennessee energy startups with additional sources of debt capital to support their growth. LACI’s Cleantech Debt Fund is a first-of-its-kind loan program to grow early-stage cleantech startups. Learn more or apply on our website. 

4. Inform the national energy agenda

Though focused on Tennessee, TAEBC keeps its eye on the national energy agenda. We continue our partnership with TEAM TN, a National Science Foundation-funded initiative lead by UTK that will place Tennessee at the leading edge of advanced mobility. 

As Tennessee emerges as a global hub for advanced nuclear, fusion energy is front and center. Opportunities in Energy featured a conversation with Type One Energy, Oak Ridge National Lab and TVA, moderated by our board member, Robert Hardin. TAEBC member Type One Energy announced the final closing of its $82.4 million seed financing round last year, attracting a broad base of global investors to the company and its FusionDirect program, which is pursuing a direct path to commercializing fusion energy. FusionDirect is intended to culminate in the launch of Type One Energy’s fusion pilot power-plant project with an owner/operating partner by 2030.

In March, TAEBC participated in National Clean Energy Coalition Advocacy Day, where we joined other top clean energy incubators in Washington, D.C., to participate in meetings and activities that advocate for greater federal support for cleantech innovation. 

Looking ahead to 2025

Thank you to our members and board members! Your expertise, connections and enthusiasm for advanced energy make our work possible. I am eager to see what we can accomplish in 2025…

TVA will release its final IRP, major advanced energy projects will progress in West and East Tennessee, we should see action items coming from the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee’s final report, opportunities are ripe to scale up (AE) technology based economic development and a new administration will have the opportunity to set its national agenda for energy innovation. Let’s go!

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