The Tennessee Department of Economic Community Development (TNECD) announced a series of grants focused on mobility including research into lithium-ion battery safety, medium- to heavy-duty electric vehicle charging, mobile lidar use for crash data, AI-based traffic signal control, and automotive cybersecurity testing.

About $2.9 million will be awarded to seven collaborative teams through the Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) initiative, a TNECD news release says. TNGO received $5 million in funding from the state’s General Assembly during the 2023 legislative session, it says.

The release says the money will be used “as a tool to diversify the state’s economy by leveraging both public and private sector assets to attract mobility research and development (R&D) investment to Tennessee.”

“For decades, Tennessee has been leading the nation with our strong manufacturing workforce. In partnership with the General Assembly, we’ve made strategic investments to further diversify our business environment and attract research and development companies that will create more high-quality jobs,” said Gov. Bill Lee, in the release. “Our state is fortunate to have a vast network of educational institutions that are training the next generation of workers, and we want companies to know that our pro-business climate can support the entire mobility supply chain.”

The legislature approved an additional $2.5 million earlier this year to make the state the No. 1 destination in the Southeast for automotive and mobility R&D investment, the release says.

“Launching the TNGO initiative was the beginning of a broader conversation around mobility to further identify Tennessee’s strengths in this sector and connect our already existing assets with companies looking to engineer and design the next great product in the state,” said TNECD Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter, in the release. “I am proud to take part in announcing nearly $3 million in funding today to support these seven projects and look forward to seeing their success.”

The grant recipients include students and faculty from Tennessee research institutions who will partner with industry economic developers and community leaders.

University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma – $100,000
The university will focus research on the safety limit prediction of degraded lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry. The project will look for insights into battery and thermal management systems and mitigate electric vehicle battery safety accidents, the release says.

Williamson County EMA, Franklin – $450,000
The project will use AI to update parents, students, and district staff on real-time bus route management solutions to increase efficiency and manage options based on driver and vehicle availability, the release says.

University of Tennessee – Chattanooga – $490,000
The university will research how to advance high-powered dynamic wireless charging for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The project will showcase Electrovia’s system, the release says. This will include documenting the charging of the vehicles in stop-and-go scenarios. The project goal is to debut a dedicated vehicle-to-everything system enabling seamless wireless vehicle charging.

Vanderbilt University, Clarksville – $350,000
The university will focus on a mobile lidar solution to enhance traffic safety and efficiency across the state. The project plans to address significant traffic-related fatalities and injuries through sensing and data analysis, the release says. The project will also explore how lidar can avoid privacy concerns that arise when using camera-based approaches.

Middle West TN Clean Fuels Coalition, Nashville – $500,000
The Project will use AI-based traffic signal control technology, which learns and predicts traffic dynamics and optimally controls the signals using reinforced learning to improve mobility efficiency by up to 20% in selected areas, the release says.

University of Tennessee – Knoxville – $500,000
The project will focus on building a platform for the development of automotive cybersecurity testing. An advanced research infrastructure will be developed for testing in a controlled environment to enhance the security and reliability of automotive systems in response to increased cyber threats, the release says.

University of Memphis, Memphis and Chattanooga – $500,000
The project will design a multimodal transit system for Blue Oval City and Volkswagen. This includes an interface that allows users to view real-time public transportation route data. The application will integrate public transit options with parking solutions for commuters from more rural areas, the release says.

“One important goal of this inaugural funding round is to pilot projects in communities across the state that can serve as examples so that other communities can replicate and build upon these projects in the future,” said TNECD Chief Policy Officer Braden Stover, in the release. “By providing grants to ignite innovation and collaboration between Tennessee-based universities, companies and communities, we believe we will spur increased public-private partnerships in the future,”

The release says each project aligns with Tennessee’s key automotive and mobility technology strengths and opportunities, which were outlined in a 2022 mobility assessment report from Guidehouse Consulting. The report was also supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Tennessee System, and Vanderbilt University.

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