Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Oak Ridge:

The “After Hours with ETEC” series returns late on the afternoon of September 17.

Organized by the East Tennessee Economic Council and sponsored by Acato Information Management LLC, the two-hour event begins at 4:30 p.m. EDT at the American Museum of Science & Energy’s New William J Wilcox Jr. K-25 Interpretive Center as well at the K-25 History Center
(located directly beside the Interpretive Center).

The program will feature a conversation between:

1. Alan Lowe, Director of the American Museum of Science and Energy and the K-25 History Center; and
2. Gordon Fee, retired President of Lockheed Martin Energy Systems and former Manager of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

The event is free, but pre-registration is required at this link.

From Maryville:

DENSO, alongside the City of Maryville, Silicon Ranch, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), has “flipped the switch” on a solar facility at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee Inc. In a ceremony last Thursday, the group officially launched operations of the 12.82-acre energy infrastructure project, kicking off its efforts to produce green energy for DENSO’s operations and support the local power grid.

Powered by more than 4,000 state-of-the-art solar panels, the new facility is expected to produce up to approximately 3,400 MWh/year. The project partners broke ground on the solar farm in November 2022 and finished construction this summer.

The event marks the completion of the first of three solar energy production facilities the group plans to bring online in Blount County. Silicon Ranch projects the second facility to be online by December of 2025 and anticipates that the third will come online in the second quarter of 2026.

From Nashville:

Dreamliner Luxury Coaches, a Nashville-based provider of full-service event transportation logistics for the entertainment industry, received a growth investment from BBH Capital Partners.

Led by Rich Thomson, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Dreamliner is a provider of coaches and full-service event transportation logistics for the entertainment industry. With its recent acquisition of Shomotion and Show Pro, it now offers event transportation logistics for music concerts and motion picture productions, theatrical events, and festivals across North America.

Clients include the music industry’s biggest artists, such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Elton John, as well as Fortune 500 companies.

From Memphis:

The final deadline to apply for the 2026 AgLaunch365 Accelerator is less than two weeks away. In fact, it is September 15. You can do so at this link.

AgLaunch365 isn’t like other accelerators. It embeds founders directly into the real-world complexity of farming. Selected start-ups will partner with AgLaunch’s aligned and connected national farmer network, made up of farmers working hundreds of thousands of acres, more than 150 crops, and all major classes of livestock. Using standard trial protocols and milestones, these innovation-ready producers operate across diverse regions and production systems throughout the country, forming a massive, real-time feedback loop that powers technology validation and adaptation at scale.

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