By Cortney Piper, Executive Director
Energy continues to shape every aspect of our lives—and in 2025, that was more evident than ever. As demand for electricity grows alongside economic development, electrification, and new technologies, Tennessee’s advanced energy sector once again rose to the moment. This year underscored a shared commitment to ensuring our energy future is cleaner, more reliable, more affordable, and more secure for communities across the state and the Tennessee Valley.
TAEBC is proud to champion an industry that now supports more than 420,000 jobs and contributes nearly $56 billion to Tennessee’s GDP, touching all 95 counties. In 2025, we leaned into that responsibility by convening leaders, amplifying member innovation, and engaging directly with policymakers shaping the future of energy. From hosting our 12th Annual Opportunities in Energy conference—bringing together federal officials, utilities, researchers, business leaders and entrepreneurs—to honoring our state’s leadership, TAEBC continued to elevate the voices driving progress.
At the same time, Tennessee is confronting a new reality that will define the next era of growth: our insatiable demand for electricity. As State Senator Bo Watson noted during a 2025 Senate Finance Committee hearing, it feels as if the state’s number one limitation to economic development is no longer workforce availability—it is access to power. That shift reflects both the scale of opportunity before us and the urgency of planning for it. Advanced manufacturing, data centers, electrified transportation, and emerging technologies are driving unprecedented load growth, making energy availability a central factor in every major investment decision.
This year also marked meaningful engagement with the Tennessee Valley Authority, including my remarks to the TVA Board and continued participation in the Integrated Resource Plan process—ensuring industry perspectives inform long-term planning for the nation’s largest public power provider. At the federal level, TAEBC advocated for programs and tax credits essential to sustaining investment and innovation in advanced energy.
Across meetings, press releases, podcasts, and partnerships, 2025 reflected momentum, collaboration and leadership. As we celebrate the year’s accomplishments, we’re energized by what lies ahead—and grateful to our members, partners, and policymakers working to ensure energy remains a catalyst, not a constraint, for Tennessee’s continued economic success.
TAEBC: Champion of Tennessee’s advanced energy economy
TAEBC prides itself on being a membership-driven organization. In 2025, our membership roster added 17 new members across the state’s advanced energy sector.
One of the benefits TAEBC provides its members is our events. I hope you were one of the 550+ people who attended our 2025 events, including the 2025 Annual Meeting, Opportunities in Energy and our TVA Lunch & Learn– all three bigger than ever.
At Opportunities in Energy, TAEBC named Stuart C. McWhorter, Deputy Governor and Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), as the recipient of the 2025 Thomas B. Ballard Advanced Energy Leadership Award, presented by Orano USA. The award celebrates exemplary leadership in expanding Tennessee’s reputation as a national powerhouse in advanced energy innovation, investment, and job creation.
Under Commissioner McWhorter, TNECD has secured more than 260 projects, over 36,000 job commitments, and $21.5 billion in capital investments statewide – a significant portion tied directly to the advanced energy sector. His leadership has helped position Tennessee as the #1 state in America for advanced energy growth, spanning mobility, battery manufacturing, advanced materials, renewables, and nuclear innovation.
But don’t take our word for it! Listen to Governor Lee’s congratulatory message to his Deputy Governor and Commissioner.
TAEBC announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Hardin, WACKER Polysilicon North America, as Board President, along with the election of new board members Matt Miles, Type One Energy; Stuart Hunter, FirstBank and Jason Mennino, Bridgestone Americas.
“Having WACKER at the table in the state where we have made our company’s single largest investment is a testament to the value we place on ensuring our operations can access quality, stable, and affordable energy for our customers,” said Dr. Christoph Kowitz, President and CEO of Wacker Chemical Corporation. “The TAEBC was among the organizations instrumental in attracting WACKER and many other global companies to the Volunteer State. Our talented team members contribute at a high level by serving on boards and councils that are catalysts for attracting companies and strengthening communities.”
We also expanded our digital reach. Energizing Tennessee released 31 podcast episodes, we grew our email subscribers to over 4,500 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
TAEBC is committed to ensuring that the leaders shaping Tennessee’s economic future have a clear, data-driven understanding of the state’s advanced energy economy. So in 2025 we took our “Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report” on the (virtual) road. 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.
TAEBC held virtual briefings with Senators, Congressmen, Governor’s Office, Labor, TNECD and TDEC Commissioners, TVA and mayors and chambers across the state to share the good news about the advanced energy sector in Tennessee. Thank you to our board of directors and gold and platinum members for joining those briefings. Here are the main takeaways related to Tennessee’s advanced energy economy:
- Grows faster than the overall state economy
- Employs 420,632 Tennesseans
- Includes 22,554 businesses
- Contributes almost $56 billion to the state’s GDP
Let’s not forget our members leading on the national scale:
Kairos Power is building a molten salt demo reactor in Oak Ridge, the only US nuclear reactor under construction according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Type One Energy announced earlier this year that TVA has issued a Letter of Intent (LOI) to Type One Energy regarding the utility’s interest in the potential deployment of Type One Energy’s fusion power plant technology at its former Bull Run Fossil site.
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) application was selected for a $400 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance the development of a small modular reactor (SMR) at the Clinch River Site. Earlier this year, TVA was the first US utility to apply for an SMR construction permit.
Silicon Ranch Corporation, a homegrown billion-dollar Nashville business, continues to catalyze American manufacturing and pioneer rural economic development options through agrivoltaics and investment in robotics company, Swap Robotics.
Big congrats to our friends at the East Tennessee Economic Council! On July 22, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee designated the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC)’s Nuclear Working Group as the Tennessee Nuclear Network (TN2), the state’s official partnership aimed at advancing nuclear innovation, workforce development, and economic growth across the state. Brandon Gibson, Tennessee’s Chief Operating Officer, announced this designation at ETEC’s annual Nuclear Opportunities Workshop.
In 2023, Governor Lee signed Executive Order 101 to create the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, which worked for more than a year to position Tennessee as a national leader for nuclear energy innovation and advancement. The newly designated Tennessee Nuclear Network will incorporate the Council’s recommendations and continue the mission of establishing a robust nuclear energy ecosystem in Tennessee.
2. Support TVA and local power companies’ efforts to become energy companies of the future
In 2025, TAEBC deepened its engagement with the Tennessee Valley Authority and local power companies as they navigate a period of historic change driven by rapid load growth, evolving customer expectations, and the transition to more advanced and flexible energy systems. As TVA works toward finalizing its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), TAEBC has remained an active and constructive partner—focused on ensuring that long-term planning reflects real-world economic demand and positions the Valley for sustained growth.
A key milestone this year was TVA’s welcoming of Don Moul as its new President and CEO, marking a new chapter of leadership at the nation’s largest public power provider. TAEBC looks forward to continued collaboration with Moul and TVA leadership as they chart a path forward that balances affordability, reliability, and innovation.
TAEBC also expanded member education and dialogue through its TVA Lunch & Learn, featuring Doug Perry, Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning and Development at TVA. Perry walked attendees through TVA’s Valley Vision, a long-term initiative designed to evolve the Valley’s public power model, integrate emerging technologies and meet the region’s rapidly growing energy needs. These conversations provide our members and TVA the opportunity to engage in productive dialogue to address Tennessee’s power demands.
In February, I addressed the TVA Board of Directors at a quarterly listening session in Knoxville, reinforcing TAEBC’s role on the IRP Working Group. My remarks emphasized the need to align TVA’s resource planning with accelerating corporate demand for carbon-free energy, while supporting a diverse portfolio of solutions and public-private partnerships to meet growing demand without exacerbating TVA’s debt burden.
Finally, TAEBC reacted to the restoration of a full TVA Board quorum following U.S. Senate confirmations in December 2025, underscoring the importance of strong governance for forward-looking energy decisions. Together, these efforts reflect TAEBC’s commitment to helping TVA and local power companies evolve into the energy companies of the future—ready to power Tennessee’s next era of economic growth.
3. Foster the growth of Tennessee’s advanced energy technologies and startups
Last year, The Energy Network, run in partnership with Launch Tennessee, served 75 companies that raised $36M in total capital and created or retained 500 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 12 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 NXT MFG, a startup in the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, at the conclusion of the pitch session. The company has invented an adaptive process control approach for 3D metal printing, which has the potential to make industrial-grade additive manufacturing practical and accessible for electric utilities and other industries.
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 NXT MFG reflects TVA’s commitment to fostering next-generation energy innovation.
2025 was a pivotal year for advanced energy technologies and startups.
Ten of TAEBC’s Energy Network companies were selected for Launch Tennessee’s SBIR/STTR Matching Fund. The SBIR/STTR Matching Fund is a strategic initiative to support entrepreneurs’ ability to secure highly competitive federal awards for the research and development of their innovative technologies.
After almost a decade of building, Shift Thermal cut the ribbon on its first commercial cooling unit at the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The energy storage system attached to the Oak Ridge Civic Center will help lower electricity costs and decarbonize cooling.
Ascend Manufacturing was selected to work on a project with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The Energy Network company has now secured seed funding and is delivering products to customers, with the largest of these being the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The United States Air Force awarded Safire Technology Group, Inc. a $4.5M contract as part of the United States Department of War’s new Advanced Resilient Energy Systems (ARES) initiative. This milestone reflects Safire’s growing leadership in the national defense sector. Building on past success with its Light Tactical Vehicle and Battle Airmen Gear, Safire will now develop next-gen energy storage and impact-resistant systems, including a tactical electric dirt bike and advanced body armor.
Additionally, Knoxville-based Holocene announced that it has been acquired by oil and gas giant Oxy. Holocene, a company focused on direct air capture (DAC) technology, has been a key success story in the region – first recruited through Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Innovation Crossroads program and later supported by the Spark Innovation Center at the UT Research Park’s Accelerator and Incubator programs.
TAEBC and the UT Spark Innovation Center also continued our partnership 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.
At the end of the year, the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council was named the mobility industry partner for Launch Tennessee. As the mobility industry partner, TAEBC will partner with the Spark Innovation Center to launch the Spark Mobility Lab, a program designed to equip early-stage mobility founders with the technical and economic tools they need to scale by combining Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) training with direct industry engagement and investor readiness support.
Applications for the Spark Mobility Lab are now open and will close on February 28, 2026. The program operates with support from Launch Tennessee.
4. Inform the national energy agenda
As national demand for electricity accelerates, Tennessee is uniquely positioned to help lead America’s energy dominance agenda—from world-class research and innovation to real-world deployment at scale. TAEBC consistently elevated the message that our state has the assets, talent, and industry momentum to meet rising corporate and national demand for power.
That national perspective was on full display at TAEBC’s 12th Annual Opportunities in Energy conference, where federal, state, and industry leaders gathered to discuss the future of energy innovation. During the event, Carl Coe, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Energy, delivered keynote remarks that made national news, previewing major federal initiatives tied to advanced nuclear deployment and energy-intensive AI development. The moment reinforced Tennessee’s relevance to national energy strategy and TAEBC’s role as a trusted convenor for high-level policy dialogue.
Earlier in the year, TAEBC also participated in National Clean Energy Coalition Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., joining leading clean energy incubators to advocate for stronger federal investment in advanced energy innovation and commercialization. Complementing that effort, TAEBC publicly urged the U.S. Senate to protect and modernize critical energy tax credits—emphasizing their importance to sustaining investment, job creation, and grid reliability in Tennessee and nationwide.
Through national dialogue, high-profile convening, and consistent engagement with government officials, TAEBC helped ensure that Tennessee’s advanced energy voice remains influential in shaping America’s energy future.
Looking ahead to 2026
Thank you to our members and board members! Your expertise, connections and enthusiasm for advanced energy make our work possible. One thing is for certain, 2026 will be the year to be bold so, set your expectations high, get excited and join our TAEBC team. I am eager to see what we can accomplish in 2026.
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