Technology-Enhanced
Advanced Mobility

About TEAM TN

The Technology-Enhanced Advanced Mobility in Tennessee (TEAM TN) Engine is a coalition of 250 stakeholder organizations with a shared vision and commitment to create a thriving advanced mobility innovation ecosystem that simultaneously strengthens Tennessee’s leadership in the global innovation economy, safeguards the health of our planet, and enhances the quality of life for all Tennesseans.

Tennessee’s diverse communities will prosper, thanks to opportunities created by access to a strong innovation economy that creates good jobs and supports Tennessee families.

Diverse, world-class workforce

Leading research and education institutions

Considerable quality-of-life amenities

Business-friendly climate

Three Core Goals

  1. Position Tennessee as a global leader in the mobility innovation economy
  2. Diversify Tennessee’s innovation economy by strengthening information and communication technology (ICT) talent and industries
  3. Create mutual and reciprocal benefits for Tennessee’s innovation industries and diverse communities and residents

The Story of Advanced Mobility in Tennessee

In the last two decades, Tennessee’s innovation economy has grown considerably based on its long-standing manufacturing and computing strengths and the recent emergence of an automotive manufacturing supply chain specializing in electrification. Four OEMs with EV and/or battery operations are in Tennessee: Nissan North America, General Motors, Volkswagen Group of America, and Ford. Our region is now the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the U.S. Southeast and the fourth-largest vehicle producer in the country. 

Tennessee is also home to the world’s fastest supercomputer, Frontier, at Oak Ridge National Lab. According to the Department of Energy, supercomputers are increasingly used to identify solutions to real-world mobility and transportation energy efficiency challenges.

Despite these strengths, there is little industrial R&D presence in the region, and gaps in workforce development limit Tennesseans’ ability to take advantage of this sector and improve their economic trajectory. TEAM TN seeks to change that.

June 1983

Nissan opens its first North American factory in Smyrna

July 1990

General Motors begins production at its Spring Hill facility

May 1992

Oak Ridge National Lab launches the Center for Computational Sciences, delivering supercomputers of unprecedented capability to the scientific community on behalf of the U.S.

July 2008

Volkswagen of America selects Chattanooga for its $1 billion, 1,400-acre assembly plant campus

September 2010

Chattanooga dubbed the “Gig City” after being the first city in the Western Hemisphere to offer one gigabit-per-second fiber internet service to all residents and businesses

December 2012

Nissan opens the country’s largest lithium-ion automotive battery plant in Smyrna

January 2013

Nissan begins producing all-electric LEAF at its plant in Symrna

January 2015

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) is established and headquartered in Tennessee. It is one of 17 Manufacturing USA institutes created to help revitalize U.S. manufacturing. IACMI is led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and managed by Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS)

2018

The Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the city of Chattanooga, the Enterprise Center and the Electric Power Board (EPB) form the Chattanooga Smart Community Collaborative to use AI to improve traffic flow, track air quality, increase access to public transportation and collect data sets in real-time

January 2019

Former Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe announces the state’s goal of becoming America’s top electric vehicle producer

January 2020

Volkswagen Group of America announces its first North American Innovation Hub in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the UT Research Park to develop lighter vehicle components made from composite materials and to electrify vehicles

April 2021

Ultium Cells, a joint venture of LG Energy Solution and General Motors, announced a $2.3 billion investment to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in Spring Hill

February 2021

The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation partner to develop a statewide EV fast-charging network

September 2021

Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation announce a $5.6 billion EV investment in West Tennessee called BlueOval City 

March 2022

General Motors begins retail production of the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ at its Spring Hill assembly plant 

May 2022

ORNL’s Frontier supercomputer debuts as world’s fastest, breaking exascale barrier

July 2022

Volkswagen of America began U.S. production of EVs at its plant in Chattanooga

June 2023

National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan announces the launch of TEAM TN, a statewide initiative to advance mobility led by UTK and funded by NSF

July 2023

Volkswagen Group of America’s Knoxville Innovation Hub reveals research breakthroughs to increase EV range and recycle vehicle materials

September 2023

Governor Bill Lee and TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter establish the Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) to encourage industry investment in R&D and de-risk mobility technologies that promise competitive advantages for TN companies.

December 2023

Pilot Travel Centers, General Motors, and EVgo open the first of 17 locations for their national EV fast-charging network

January 2024

TEAM TN hosts the inaugural TEAM TN Summit in Cleveland to gather and share progress toward positioning Tennessee at the forefront of transportation electrification and digitization 

March 2024

ORNL researchers achieve the highest wireless power transfer level for a light-duty passenger vehicle

May 2024

TEAM TN hosts the second TEAM TN Summit in Memphis, convening hundreds of advanced mobility leaders from across the state

June 2024

The University of Memphis receives a National Science Foundation award to establish the Center for Electrified and Automated Trucking (CEAT)

June 2024

Motlow State Community College announces partnership with Nissan North America and Eaton to train future electric vehicle technology workers

June 2024

Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Stanton opens the state’s newest $60 million, 120,000 square-feet campus to train employees of manufacturers located at the West Tennessee Megasite industrial complex, including Ford’s BlueOval City