Energizing Tennessee

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Dassow , is a journalist who’s covered business, technology, and energy in East Tennessee for years. You may be familiar with Daniel’s bylines in the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Chattanooga Times Free Press.  In this behind-the-headlines conversation, we talk about: How Daniel got his start as a business and energy reporter Chattanooga’s growing nuclear and quantum indu...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we’re speaking with Nick de Vries, Chief Technology Officer at Silicon Ranch, about the instrumental connection between solar power, agriculture, and economic development.  This Nashville solar development company grew into a billion-dollar powerhouse for a reason. In this episode, we talk about: Silicon Ranch being named #5 on TIME America's Top GreenTech Companies of...

Send us Fan Mail Listen up, entrepreneurs! This is the episode is for you.  Bill Malkes, Executive Director of the Spark Innovation Center and Spark Accelerator program at the University of Tennessee Research Park, and Lance Adler, Founder of Witching Hour and an alum of the Spark Accelerator, joined the show to talk about: How the Spark Accelerator is bringing more entrepreneurs and their busines...

Send us Fan Mail We’re kicking off our new season today with a star-studded lineup of guests from TAEBC’s Annual Meeting…because it is the annual meeting! If you missed this event, fear not, we recorded the whole thing and are going to play an abridged, listener-friendly version here so you can get caught up.  Episode Highlights: TAEBC’s new Power Infrastructure Solutions Working Group  A year-in-...

Send us Fan Mail If you have ever wanted to learn about the nitty gritty of microgrid work, this episode is for you. A few years ago, Middle Tennessee Electric partnered with Schneider Electric to build a microgrid at its Lebanon office. Today, host Cortney Piper dives into the details of the project with two Schneider Electric representatives: Ryan Egly, Senior Microgrid Solutions and Project Dev...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode is all about the 2024 Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report . Every three years, TAEBC releases an Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report to provide context for public officials and private sector leaders to make lasting contributions to Tennessee’s economic base for the next decade and beyond. The report was produced by the Baker School of Public Policy...

Send us Fan Mail This episode covers a topic that’s at the heart of innovation: Fostering the growth of advanced energy technologies and startups right here in Tennessee. It will cover both sides of a startup journey — the entrepreneurs who are making waves and the organizations empowering them to reach the next level. First, host Cortney Piper will sit down with the CEO of The Company Lab, or CO....

Send us Fan Mail This episode was made possible thanks to the support of Solar Alliance. In the episode, host Cortney Piper interviewed three representatives from two organizations about an incredible solar and storage project in Tennessee. Thank you to Chris Staackmann, Head of Operations of AESSEAL North America, and Solar Alliance’s President & CEO Brian Timmons and General Manager U.S. Jon...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper speaks with Anca Timofte, CEO and co-founder of Holocene, a company focused on direct air capture technology and carbon removal. Anca shares her journey from Romania to becoming an entrepreneur in the climate tech space, highlighting her experiences in chemical engineering and business school.  The discussion covers the importance of direct air capture in addres...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Cortney Piper for an insightful conversation with Dale Harrigle, Chief Engineer, Tire Development – Consumer Replacement, Bridgestone Americas. Dale discusses his decades-long career at Bridgestone and shares pivotal industry milestones, from the revolutionary introduction of silica in tire manufacturing to Bridgestone’s impressive global expansion. Hear about how the ri...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you to the WastAway team for making this episode possible. Host Cortney Piper had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Brown, CEO of WastAway, a green tech company that takes something the world doesn’t want – municipal solid waste – and converts it into something the world needs.  WastAway—Waste-Away with no E—is an advanced energy leader. Its multi-patented system transforms...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Mitchell Ishmael , Shift Thermal's co-founder and chief technology officer. In the episode, Mitch discusses the company's advanced thermal energy storage solution and the company milestones, including their participation in the Innovation Crossroads program.  The two discuss the benefits of cleantech entrepreneurship in Tennessee, the need f...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Michael McCall, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Vice President of Environment and Sustainability and Chief Sustainability Officer, about the agency’s 2023 Sustainability Report . They discuss how TVA prioritizes sustainability and has shifted its mindset from compliance to stewardship. This shift enabled the nation’s largest public power provider to...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Daniel Poneman , former president and chief executive officer of Centrus Energy Corporation, United States Deputy Secretary of Energy and chief operating officer of the Department of Energy. He has worked for three United States presidents on issues ranging from nuclear nonproliferation to clean energy.  In the interview, Cortney and Daniel discuss hi...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Dr. Chris Burns , Chief Executive Officer of NOVONIX, a leading battery materials and technology company with operations in the United States and Canada. Recently, DOE awarded NOVONIX a $100 million grant and a $103 million tax credit under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Allocation Program, or the 48C program under the Inflation Reduction Act....

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Dr. Charles Sims, Director of the Center for Energy, Transportation and Environmental Policy, Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs, about the Valley Pathways Study.  The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Baker School launched the Valley Pathways Study in February 2023 to evaluate the existing environmental landscape and expl...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Host Cortney Piper interviews Lilly Tench , Director of the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park. The two discuss the Spark Cleantech Accelerator program and how applications are open for Cohort Three until May 15, 2024. TAEBC is a proud partner of the Spark Cleantech Accelerator. We provide operational support and mentorship throug...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Host Cortney Piper interviews Monica Walker , Manager of Renewables & Energy Strategy at General Motors. GM has a bold vision for the future. One with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. Piper and Walker discuss GM’s renewable energy commitments, electric vehicle charging partnership with the Pilot Company and Spring Hill Manufacturing facility o...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Jennifer Safavian , President and Chief Executive Officer of Autos Drive America. Autos Drive America’s mission is to grow the U.S. automotive industry by advocating for and defending open trade and investment policies that expand employment opportunities for Americans and choice for all consumers.  Cortney and Jennifer discuss the international autom...

Send us Fan Mail In what is likely Host Cortney Piper’s favorite interview to date, she interviews Liliana Ramirez , Global Director of Workforce Development at Ford. Ramirez is responsible for using cutting-edge strategies to build the manufacturing workforce required for BlueOval City and BlueOval SK Battery Park.  In this episode, they discuss Ramirez’s 30+ year career at Ford, her passion for...

Send us Fan Mail How can we advance mobility solutions for all Tennesseans? In this episode, Host Cortney Piper interviews Dr. Kevin Heaslip , Director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Heaslip also served as the Chief Executive Officer of TEAM TN, a partnership with the National Science Foundation and an alliance of 100 academics, industry, and...

Send us Fan Mail Host Cortney Piper interviews Gina Bonini , Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Thermal Systems at Modine. Modine is the only U.S.-based automotive thermal management provider for electric vehicles. They are headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin, but the EV component manufacturing occurs at their plant in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Modine has a rich history of automotive the...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of Season 2,  Host Cortney Piper interviews Julian Spector , senior reporter at Canary Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom covering the transition to clean energy and solutions to the climate crisis. The pair spoke about Spector’s recent coverage of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s decarbonization efforts and the Southeast’s journey toward becoming a maj...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we’re asking the question, “Why Tennessee?” Why are so many advanced energy companies moving to or expanding operations in our state?  In 2021, Ford committed to a $5.6 billion investment in West Tennessee for electric vehicle production at its BlueOval City campus. Last year, WACKER, a German-based polysilicon manufacturer and long-time TAEBC member, announced a $200 milli...

Send us Fan Mail For this episode, Energizing Tennessee is changing its format – or rather, its host – a little bit. Steve Seifried , Tennessee Account Executive for Ameresco and President of the Board for the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, is your guest host for today’s conversation. In this episode, Seifried and his guests will explore how manufacturers in our state are meeting thei...