Stage 1 of 9. Research
ORNL research
Radu Custelcean and his team at ORNL develop a new approach to direct air capture.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the direct air capture research.
Tennessee, Connected
Inside Tennessee’s growing innovation economy
Based on graduate research completed at Harvard University in 2026.
This project started because I wanted to better understand what was happening in my own backyard.
For the past several years, I have worked with emerging energy and hard-tech companies. Much of that work happened remotely. I knew a lot about the industries I worked in, but I was not well connected to the innovation community here in Tennessee.
I chose Tennessee’s innovation economy as the focus of my graduate research partly to change that.
I knew about Oak Ridge. I had watched Nashville grow. I knew Tennessee had become a major destination for corporate investment and advanced manufacturing. What I did not understand was everything happening between those pieces.
Over the course of the research, I spoke with and surveyed founders, investors, researchers, business leaders and people supporting entrepreneurs across the state. I learned about programs and organizations I had never encountered. I also started to see how much work had gone into connecting Tennessee’s universities, research institutions, entrepreneurs, companies, investors and state government.
Tennessee, Connected shares what I learned. It combines the original research with current data and resources from organizations working across the state.
It is not meant to rank Tennessee or suggest that every part of the system works the same way. It is a look at what is here, how people working within it see it and where there may be room to do more.
I hope it also makes it a little easier for people working in different parts of this community to find each other.
Tennessee looks different depending on where you are
Tennessee’s research, industries, entrepreneurs and institutions are spread across the state. Each region has developed around a different mix of industries, institutions and technical capabilities.
The map below offers a quick view of those differences and some of the organizations helping shape each region.
West Tennessee
Memphis brings together logistics, agriculture, food, healthcare and manufacturing, with connections to national and global supply chains.
Middle Tennessee
Nashville combines healthcare, corporate headquarters, entrepreneurship, finance, technology, professional services and a growing manufacturing base.
Southeast Tennessee
Chattanooga has developed strengths around advanced manufacturing, mobility, freight, digital infrastructure and entrepreneurship. It is also building a base in quantum computing. EPB launched a commercial quantum network in 2022, and a $22 million partnership with IonQ is bringing a quantum computer to the city through the EPB Quantum Center.
East Tennessee
Research, energy, nuclear, advanced manufacturing, materials and computing are strongly represented across Oak Ridge and Knoxville. Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee anchor a larger network of researchers, entrepreneurs, companies and commercialization programs.
What I heard
How does Tennessee’s innovation economy look to the people working within it?
The research included perspectives from founders, investors, researchers, business leaders and people supporting entrepreneurs across Tennessee.
Selected findings from the original research. Scores out of 100.
Overall Innovation Index69.9
These findings reflect the 90 people who chose to respond. Their roles, industries and locations shape the results. The scores describe how this group sees Tennessee’s innovation economy, not how everyone working in it would.
What stood out to me
Respondents were particularly positive about universities, incubators and accelerators. Their views were more mixed when the questions moved toward government, investment and connections between institutions.
The survey captures how people experienced Tennessee’s innovation economy at the time of the research. Other data provide another view.
The state has increased its investment in innovation. New programs are connecting companies with researchers. Universities are putting more resources behind commercialization. Venture investment has also grown.
That led me to a different set of questions.
Are people aware of the resources available to them? Are the right companies finding the right programs? Can researchers find entrepreneurs and industry partners? Can founders find capital when they need it?
I found those questions more useful than the overall score.
From research to market
Moving research into the market requires more than a good technology.
Holocene offers one example of how that process can work in Tennessee.
The story begins at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where Radu Custelcean and his research team developed a new chemistry for capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.
Anca Timofte encountered the research while at Stanford and saw the potential to build a company around it.
She went on to build Holocene with co-founders Tobias Rüesch and Keeton Ross. The company licensed the technology from ORNL and established itself in Knoxville.
What followed involved several different parts of the innovation community.
Holocene
Stage 2 of 9. Commercial opportunity
Anca Timofte
Anca Timofte identifies the commercial opportunity and begins building a company around the technology.
Anca Timofte connects to the ORNL research.
Stage 3 of 9. Founding team
Founding team
Timofte builds Holocene with Tobias Rüesch and Keeton Ross.
Anca Timofte, Tobias Rüesch and Keeton Ross form Holocene.
Stage 4 of 9. Technology transfer
ORNL license
Holocene licenses the underlying technology from ORNL.
ORNL licenses the technology to Holocene.
Stage 5 of 9. Commercialization
Innovation Crossroads
Innovation Crossroads gives the company continued access to ORNL researchers, facilities and technical support as the technology develops.
Innovation Crossroads joins the network around Holocene.
Stage 6 of 9. Company building
Spark
Holocene establishes itself in Knoxville and participates in the Spark Incubator at the University of Tennessee Research Park.
Spark joins the network around Holocene.
Stage 7 of 9. Technology demonstration
Knoxville pilot
Holocene builds and operates an industrial direct air capture pilot in Knoxville.
ORNL in Oak Ridge connects to the pilot in Knoxville.
Stage 8 of 9. Capital and market validation
Frontier + Google
The company attracts outside funding and carbon-removal customers. Frontier becomes an early buyer. Google later agrees to purchase 100,000 metric tons of future carbon removal at $100 per ton.
Frontier and Google connect to Holocene.
Stage 9 of 9. Commercial outcome
Oxy
Oxy acquires Holocene in 2025, adding its technology to a larger direct air capture program focused on improving efficiency, lowering capture costs and accelerating commercial deployment.
Oxy acquires Holocene.
The complete pathway
- ORNLResearch and license
- HoloceneFounding team
- Commercialization supportInnovation Crossroads and Spark
- Knoxville pilotIndustrial direct air capture
- CustomersFrontier and Google
- OxyAcquires Holocene in 2025
Scroll to move through each stage, or choose a stage above.
Stage 1. Research
ORNL research
Radu Custelcean and his team at ORNL develop a new approach to direct air capture.
Stage 2. Commercial opportunity
Anca Timofte
Anca Timofte identifies the commercial opportunity and begins building a company around the technology.
Stage 3. Founding team
Founding team
Timofte builds Holocene with Tobias Rüesch and Keeton Ross.
Stage 4. Technology transfer
ORNL license
Holocene licenses the underlying technology from ORNL.
Stage 5. Commercialization
Innovation Crossroads
Innovation Crossroads gives the company continued access to ORNL researchers, facilities and technical support as the technology develops.
Stage 6. Company building
Spark
Holocene establishes itself in Knoxville and participates in the Spark Incubator at the University of Tennessee Research Park.
Stage 7. Technology demonstration
Knoxville pilot
Holocene builds and operates an industrial direct air capture pilot in Knoxville.
Stage 8. Capital and market validation
Frontier + Google
The company attracts outside funding and carbon-removal customers. Frontier becomes an early buyer. Google later agrees to purchase 100,000 metric tons of future carbon removal at $100 per ton.
Stage 9. Commercial outcome
Oxy
Oxy acquires Holocene in 2025, adding its technology to a larger direct air capture program focused on improving efficiency, lowering capture costs and accelerating commercial deployment.
The complete pathway
- ORNLResearch and license
- HoloceneFounding team
- Commercialization supportInnovation Crossroads and Spark
- Knoxville pilotIndustrial direct air capture
- CustomersFrontier and Google
- OxyAcquires Holocene in 2025
Holocene is one company, and its path will not be typical for every technology. It does show what can happen when research, entrepreneurs, technology transfer, specialized facilities, commercialization support, capital and customers connect around the same idea.
Sources. ORNL for the research and license. UT Research Park and Launch Tennessee for the founders and company development. Frontier and Google for the purchases. Oxy for the acquisition. Listed in full under About.
Building more pathways from research
Tennessee is also trying to make this process more systematic.
During fiscal year 2025, the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium worked with 95 faculty members across participating universities.
95Faculty members
20Technologies identified for commercialization
13Received proof-of-concept funding
8Startups reported
From that work, 20 technologies were identified for commercialization. Thirteen received proof-of-concept funding and eight startups were reported.
TTAC also marketed 30 technologies to more than 600 industry partners and reported 16 industry partnerships.
TTAC reaches beyond the state’s largest research institutions. Its founding members included Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech University and the University of Memphis alongside the University of Tennessee Research Foundation and Vanderbilt. Its early pilot focused on the state’s locally governed public universities. The goal is a statewide view of what it takes to move research from the lab into the market.
The numbers are still small compared with the scale of Tennessee’s research and business economy. They provide an early look at an effort to move more university research toward commercial use.
Sources. TTAC annual reporting via Launch Tennessee, fiscal year 2025. Venture Nashville, 2023.
How the pieces connect
Holocene’s development brought together research, entrepreneurship, commercialization support, capital and customers. Tennessee has organizations working across each of these areas.
This is not a complete list. It is a starting point drawn from interviews and desktop research.
Research to scale. Choose a stage to see Tennessee organizations working there.
Working in Research
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- University of Tennessee
- Vanderbilt University
- University of Memphis
- Tennessee State University
- Tennessee Tech University
- Meharry Medical College
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- ORNL Technology Transfer
- University of Tennessee Research Foundation
- Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization
Looking beyond the survey
A perception survey and economic data measure different things.
Looking at them together gives a fuller picture of what was happening around the people I surveyed.
Government support
Survey score58.7Government supportOriginal research, 2026
Activity
$63 million
Innovation-related initiatives included in Tennessee’s FY2026 budgetSource. TNECD, 2025.That investment included funding for programs such as IRIS, which supports research and development partnerships between Tennessee companies and research institutions.
Access to capital
Survey score73.0Investor availabilityOriginal research, 2026
Activity
179$1.2 billion
Tennessee venture deals and venture capital invested in 2025Source. Greater Nashville Private Capital Association / PitchBook, 2025 Impact Report.Tennessee recorded its highest venture deal count in 2025. The share of deals backed exclusively by Tennessee investors also increased.
The survey captures how people working within the ecosystem experienced it. These figures capture activity happening around them.
They are different views of the same system.
How Tennessee compares
National data provide another way to look at Tennessee’s innovation economy.
The comparison below shows Tennessee alongside North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio. Each has a substantial research or manufacturing economy and offers a useful point of comparison.
Tennessee0.87%
North Carolina2.62%
Georgia1.34%
Ohio1.68%
United States2.92%
Tennessee1.77%
North Carolina3.06%
Georgia1.69%
Ohio2.31%
United States3.36%
Tennessee$3.78
North Carolina$5.51
Georgia$4.61
Ohio$4.00
United States$4.00
Tennessee4.74%
North Carolina6.55%
Georgia6.39%
Ohio5.71%
United States6.47%
Source. NSF NCSES State Indicators. Each comparison uses its own scale, starting at zero.
Tennessee’s academic R&D activity is relatively close to the national average. Its overall R&D activity is comparable to Georgia but lower than North Carolina and Ohio.
The larger difference appears in the private sector.
Businesses in Tennessee performed R&D equal to 0.87 percent of private-industry output in 2023. That was below all three comparison states and well below the national average of 2.92 percent.
Tennessee also had a smaller share of its workforce employed in science and engineering occupations than each of the comparison states.
These data help separate research capacity from what happens around it.
Tennessee has major research institutions and academic activity. The comparison suggests more room for that research to connect with private-sector R&D, technical employment and commercial activity.
Several recent initiatives are aimed at parts of that process.
Recent activity
2023
- TTAC begins building a statewide university commercialization network.
- Tennessee creates the Nuclear Energy Fund.
- Tennessee launches InvestTN with $70 million in federal SSBCI funding for startups and venture funds.
2024–2025
- InvestTN begins deploying capital into Tennessee startups and venture funds.
- IRIS launches industry-led research partnerships.
- TTAC expands university commercialization activity.
2026
- Tennessee Innovation Exchange launches.
- Tennessee begins deploying $63 million in state innovation funding.
- Tennessee advances its Oak Ridge Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus proposal and establishes the country’s first state regulatory framework for fusion.
Many of these efforts are too recent for their effects to appear in national economic data.
Where Tennessee’s capabilities connect
The peer comparison shows where Tennessee differs from other states. It does not show what those differences look like on the ground.
Tennessee’s research institutions, companies, investors and entrepreneurs are spread across several regions. The capabilities they bring are spread across them too.
A company working on advanced manufacturing might draw on research in Oak Ridge, customers or capital in Middle Tennessee, suppliers in Chattanooga and logistics infrastructure in Memphis.
A healthcare company would follow a different path.
The connections depend on what someone is trying to build.
What are you looking for?
Choose a capability to see where it appears across Tennessee. Select a location or statewide organization to learn more.
Statewide
One area brings many of these capabilities together.
Advanced energy
Research, manufacturing, infrastructure, industry and technical talent intersect across Tennessee.
Advanced energy in Tennessee
$55.9BState GDP
420,632Jobs
22,554Business establishments
$74,025Average annual salary
2022 economic activity reported in the 2024 TAEBC Tennessee Advanced Energy Economic Impact Report.
The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council reported that advanced energy represented 11.5 percent of state GDP and 14.8 percent of Tennessee employment. Average salaries were 31 percent above the statewide average.
Nuclear
Oak Ridge gives Tennessee an unusual concentration of nuclear research, engineering, manufacturing and technical expertise. ORNL, the University of Tennessee, TVA, the Y-12 National Security Complex and a growing group of private companies connect research with manufacturing, workforce development and commercial activity. Recent activity includes the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Fund, new nuclear manufacturing programs, private-sector investment and federal activity around Oak Ridge.
Manufacturing and materials
Tennessee’s manufacturing base creates potential customers and partners for technologies developed in laboratories and universities. ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility and Carbon Fiber Technology Facility add research and scale-up capabilities in additive manufacturing, composites, materials and industrial processes. Companies and industry organizations extend those capabilities into commercial markets.
Mobility
Tennessee already manufactures vehicles and components at scale. Electrification is adding batteries, charging, advanced materials, power electronics and new manufacturing technologies to that base. Transportation, energy and advanced manufacturing increasingly overlap.
Grid and power
TVA’s generation and transmission system sits alongside large industrial customers, growing electricity demand and emerging energy technologies. That creates potential connections among utilities, researchers, technology companies, manufacturers and new electricity users.
From the original research
Sustainability looks different
The original research also asked respondents how likely their neighbors and local businesses are to follow environmental sustainability practices.
51.4Sustainability Index. Out of 100
68.7Recycling, the highest score
48thTennessee’s packaging recycling rank among 50 states
The overall Sustainability Index was 51.4.
Recycling scored highest at 68.7. Using public transportation and limiting air travel were among the lowest-scoring practices.
Outside data point the other way on recycling. Respondents saw recycling as the practice most likely to happen around them. Yet the 50 States of Recycling report by Eunomia and Ball Corporation ranked Tennessee 48th of 50 states for recycling common packaging materials, based on 2021 data.
Lawmakers have taken up the issue. In 2026, Tennessee enacted House Bill 2518, which revives a state office that connects recycled materials with buyers and creates an advisory council to study recycling markets. The Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act, first introduced in 2025, proposes that large packaging producers help fund recycling infrastructure and education.
These questions measured how respondents see sustainability in their own communities and businesses. The contrast is a reminder that perceptions of everyday sustainability practices and statewide outcomes do not necessarily tell the same story.
Sources. Original research, 2026. Eunomia and Ball Corporation, 50 States of Recycling, 2021 data. Tennessee Lookout and The Pew Charitable Trusts on recycling legislation.
Advanced energy shows how several of Tennessee’s strengths can work on the same problems. The sustainability findings show that progress is uneven, and that growing industries do not automatically change everyday practices. Both shaped how I came to see the state.
What I learned
I started this research because I wanted to better understand the innovation community in my own state.
I expected to learn more about Tennessee’s universities, research institutions, startups and economic development programs.
What surprised me was how much had already been built to connect them.
There are organizations helping researchers commercialize technologies. There are entrepreneur centers working across the state to support founders and small businesses. More capital is being invested in Tennessee companies. Universities and research institutions are opening new ways for industry to engage with them. The state is putting more money behind commercialization and emerging industries.
People working in Tennessee were highly positive about the state’s universities, incubators and accelerators. They were less positive about government support, regulation, internationalization and some of the connections involved in moving ideas into the market.
The broader data add context to those perceptions.
Tennessee has significant research and technical capabilities. Its academic research activity is relatively close to the national average. Private-sector R&D remains lower than in the comparison states examined here. The share of Tennessee workers in science and engineering occupations is also lower.
Many of the state’s newest programs are aimed at commercialization, industry participation and investment. Most are too new to judge their impacts or results by national measures.
I came away from the research less interested in whether Tennessee should be called a top innovation state and more interested in what happens next.
The state has capabilities that are difficult to reproduce. Oak Ridge is one of them. Tennessee’s manufacturing base is another. So are its healthcare industry, logistics network, universities, corporate base and growing entrepreneurial community.
The opportunity is in how people use them together.
Tennessee has more innovation happening than I understood when I began this research.
Much of its potential sits in the connections between people who may not yet know each other. Researchers need entrepreneurs. Founders need customers and capital. Investors need access to promising ideas. Industry needs new solutions.
My hope is that this work makes a few of those connections easier.
Explore the ecosystemExplore the ecosystem
One of the challenges I had when I began this project was simply figuring out who was doing what.
The resources below offer a starting point for founders, researchers, investors, companies and others who want to explore Tennessee’s innovation community.
They are intentionally selective. Many more organizations, programs and people are working across the state than could be included here.
What are you looking for?
AgLaunch
Agriculture innovation platform where startups can develop and test technologies with farmers while building relationships with industry and investors.
Visit resource for AgLaunch, opens in a new tabThe Angel Roundtable
Northeast Tennessee angel network giving early-stage companies an opportunity to connect with individual investors in the region.
Visit resource for The Angel Roundtable, opens in a new tabThe Company Lab
Chattanooga startup hub offering founder programs, mentorship and industry connections, with particular activity in mobility, freight and advanced technology.
Visit resource for The Company Lab, opens in a new tabDrive Electric Tennessee
Statewide coalition connecting organizations working on electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and transportation electrification.
Visit resource for Drive Electric Tennessee, opens in a new tabEPB
Chattanooga public utility that operates a citywide fiber network and a commercial quantum network, now expanding through the EPB Quantum Center.
Visit resource for EPB, opens in a new tabEpicenter
Memphis entrepreneurship hub providing startup support, mentorship and capital connections while helping founders navigate the region’s business community.
Visit resource for Epicenter, opens in a new tabIACMI
Manufacturing innovation institute where companies and researchers collaborate on advanced composites, materials, manufacturing processes and scale-up.
Visit resource for IACMI, opens in a new tabInnova
Memphis-based early-stage investor focused heavily on agriculture, food and related technologies, with experience helping young companies reach commercial markets.
Visit resource for Innova, opens in a new tabInnovation Crossroads
Oak Ridge-based program where science and engineering founders can develop hard-tech companies with access to ORNL researchers, facilities and technical capabilities.
Visit resource for Innovation Crossroads, opens in a new tabInvestTN
State-backed source of investment capital supporting Tennessee startups and venture funds through the federal SSBCI program.
Visit resource for InvestTN, opens in a new tabIRIS
Tennessee grant program funding company-led partnerships with research institutions to develop, prototype, test and move new technologies toward market.
Visit resource for IRIS, opens in a new tabKnoxville Entrepreneur Center
Knoxville-based resource for entrepreneurs seeking startup education, mentorship, programming and connections across East Tennessee.
Visit resource for Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, opens in a new tabLaunch Tennessee
Statewide entry point for entrepreneurs seeking startup support, capital programs, commercialization resources and connections to Tennessee’s regional entrepreneur centers.
Visit resource for Launch Tennessee, opens in a new tabLife Science Tennessee
Statewide network connecting life-science companies, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors through industry programs and commercialization support.
Visit resource for Life Science Tennessee, opens in a new tabMeharry Medical College
Nashville medical school with a technology transfer and commercialization office that takes part in the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium.
Visit resource for Meharry Medical College, opens in a new tabNashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Entry point into Nashville’s broader business community, with connections to employers, economic-development resources and regional industry networks.
Visit resource for Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, opens in a new tabNashville Entrepreneur Center
Nashville startup hub providing founder programs, mentorship and access to the region’s entrepreneurial and business network.
Visit resource for Nashville Entrepreneur Center, opens in a new tabNashville Health Care Council
Industry network providing access to leaders, companies and expertise across Nashville’s large healthcare business community.
Visit resource for Nashville Health Care Council, opens in a new tabOak Ridge National Laboratory
U.S. Department of Energy laboratory in Oak Ridge with research across energy, nuclear science, materials, advanced manufacturing and computing.
Visit resource for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, opens in a new tabORNL Technology Transfer
Search and licensing resource for companies and entrepreneurs interested in commercializing technologies developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Visit resource for ORNL Technology Transfer, opens in a new tabPathway Lending
Tennessee lender offering small-business financing alongside business advising and technical assistance.
Visit resource for Pathway Lending, opens in a new tabPlug and Play
Global innovation platform connecting startups with corporate partners, investors and accelerator opportunities, including programs operating in Tennessee.
Visit resource for Plug and Play, opens in a new tabSpark Innovation Center
Knoxville incubator helping technology startups develop their businesses and connect with mentors, researchers and resources around the University of Tennessee.
Visit resource for Spark Innovation Center, opens in a new tabTCA Venture Group
Tennessee investor network connecting early-stage companies with angel investors through pitch, evaluation and investment activities.
Visit resource for TCA Venture Group, opens in a new tabTDEC Office of Energy Programs
State government resource for energy programs, grants, technical assistance and funding opportunities available to Tennessee organizations and communities.
Visit resource for TDEC Office of Energy Programs, opens in a new tabTennessee Advanced Energy Business Council
Statewide industry network for companies and organizations working in energy, mobility, manufacturing and other advanced-energy markets.
Visit resource for Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, opens in a new tabTennessee Clean Fuels
Technical resource for fleets, businesses and communities evaluating cleaner vehicles, fuels, infrastructure and related funding opportunities.
Visit resource for Tennessee Clean Fuels, opens in a new tabTennessee Innovation Exchange
Statewide gateway for companies, investors and entrepreneurs looking for university research expertise, technologies and potential research partners.
Visit resource for Tennessee Innovation Exchange, opens in a new tabTennessee State University
Nashville public research university with a College of Agriculture and a founding member of the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium.
Visit resource for Tennessee State University, opens in a new tabTennessee Tech University
Cookeville public university with a Center for Energy Systems Research, a technology transfer program and founding membership in the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium.
Visit resource for Tennessee Tech University, opens in a new tabTennessee Technology Advancement Consortium
Statewide university network helping researchers advance technologies through proof-of-concept work, industry engagement and commercialization support.
Visit resource for Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium, opens in a new tabUniversity of Memphis
Memphis public research university, home to the Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute and a founding member of the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium.
Visit resource for University of Memphis, opens in a new tabUniversity of Tennessee
The state’s flagship research university, with research and technical expertise across engineering, energy, materials, agriculture and business.
Visit resource for University of Tennessee, opens in a new tabUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Chattanooga university with a growing quantum research program and the first university connected to a commercial quantum network in the United States.
Visit resource for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, opens in a new tabUniversity of Tennessee Research Foundation
Starting point for exploring, licensing and commercializing intellectual property developed across the University of Tennessee system.
Visit resource for University of Tennessee Research Foundation, opens in a new tabUT Global Supply Chain Institute
University-industry resource connecting companies with research, education and expertise in supply chain management and operations.
Visit resource for UT Global Supply Chain Institute, opens in a new tabUT Institute for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
University of Tennessee research institute connecting advanced materials and manufacturing expertise with industry, government and other research partners.
Visit resource for UT Institute for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing, opens in a new tabVanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization
Starting point for licensing Vanderbilt technologies, forming ventures around university research and developing industry commercialization partnerships.
Visit resource for Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, opens in a new tabThe Wond’ry
Vanderbilt innovation center where students, researchers and entrepreneurs can prototype ideas, develop ventures and access entrepreneurship programs.
Visit resource for The Wond’ry, opens in a new tabNo organizations match.
About the research
This publication is based on graduate research I completed at Harvard University in 2026 examining Tennessee’s innovation and sustainability ecosystems.
Methodology
The research included a survey of 90 respondents working within or alongside Tennessee’s innovation community. Survey results throughout the publication are identified as Original research, 2026. The original research has been supplemented with more recent public data and information from organizations working across the state.
Limitations
Survey results reflect the views of the 90 people who responded. Their roles, industries and locations shaped the results, and the findings should not be read as a representative survey of all Tennessee businesses or residents. Third-party data are identified by source and year throughout the publication.
Third-party sources
- NSF NCSES
- TNECD
- Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council
- ORNL
- UT Research Park
- Launch Tennessee
- Frontier
- Oxy
- Launch Tennessee
- Tennessee Innovation Exchange
- Venture Nashville
- Greater Nashville Private Capital Association / PitchBook
- Hypepotamus
- The Quantum Insider
- Eunomia and Ball Corporation
- The Pew Charitable Trusts
- Tennessee Lookout
Acknowledgments
This work began as graduate research at Harvard University. I am grateful to Dr. Ramon Sanchez for his guidance throughout the project and for encouraging me to engage directly with people working across Tennessee’s innovation community.
I also want to thank Julia Polk, Tasia Malakasis, Sam Davidson, Nicole Mansour, Morgan Beam, Lori Odom and Cecilio Ponce. Each helped the research in a different way, whether by sharing experience, distributing the survey, providing resources or introducing me to people I needed to meet.
Thank you as well to everyone who completed the survey or took time to speak with me. Many of those conversations shaped how I came to understand Tennessee’s innovation economy, even when they do not appear directly in the publication.
About Tyler
Tyler Cole is an energy commercialization executive, entrepreneur and advisor. His work has focused on bringing emerging energy technologies into complex industrial and infrastructure markets, with experience across alternative fuels, supply chains, carbon markets and project development.
He completed graduate studies in sustainability at Harvard University in 2026. His research focused on Tennessee’s innovation and sustainability ecosystems and the connections among research, entrepreneurship, industry and commercialization.
Know someone who should be connected?
If this research brings a company, technology, investor, researcher or organization to mind, I’d be glad to hear about them.
Connect with Tyler, opens LinkedIn in a new tab
Published November 2026. Resources and data reflect information available at the time of publication.