Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Add Tennessee Tech University (TTU) to the growing list of institutions exploring quantum networking.

In an announcement late last week, the Appalacian Regional Commission awarded the Cookeville-based school $500,000 to develop a plan to establish an Appalachian Quantum Network (AQN) to link quantum computers, simulators, sensors, and devices for information and resource distribution throughout Appalachia. TTU’s partners, which collectively are providing $488,982 in matching funds, are Virginia Tech University and Pennsylvania State University.

The planning grant will be used to:

1. Conduct a feasibility study;
2. Expand partnerships;
3. Design a workforce development plan that addresses the existing skill gap in the quantum
   technology market; and
4. Develop a business plan that leverages the AQN and establishes quantum technology start-ups that boost and diversify the economic growth in Appalachia.

The one-year grant was awarded under ARC’s Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) program. In total, ARC announced that the federal and 13-state alliance had awarded 33.5 million to 12 collaborative, multi-state projects that will drive large-scale economic transformation. Those projects, many involving Tennessee’s portion of the ARC territory, include:

1. Johnson City-based Appalachian Service Project will use $10 million in ARISE funding to establish three state disaster response and recovery hubs in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Impacting 20 rural counties, these hubs will expand state capacity to provide disaster response services, construct new homes, and make critical repairs for low-income homeowners. The hubs will also engage and train a local network of first responders and community organizations on disaster mitigation and response best practices.
2. Decatur-based Volunteer Energy Cooperative, collaborating with the North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation and Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation, will also use $10 million in ARISE funds to collectively deploy up to 5 MW and 20 MWh of utility-scale batteries, growing the “Battery Belt” in Appalachia by building the demand and supply of non-lithium batteries throughout the Region. Partners will also work with TTU  and its ARISE-funded HILLTOP grid modeling project partners to virtually model different non-lithium battery technologies to determine which best meets its strategic objectives.
3. Blountville-based Northeast State Community College will use $120,806 in ARISE funding to develop a plan for a regional aviation education network to address a critical shortage of aviation maintenance technicians in Central Appalachia. Developed in collaboration with partners across 27 counties in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, the plan will help the grantee expand their aviation technology program to train more students to enter Appalachia’s aviation industry.

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