NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing technology-enabled mobility solutions (TN)

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on advancing transportation electrification and digitization, promising to revolutionize the future of mobility at a scale that will transform the movement of people and goods worldwide. The Tennessee Technology-Enabled Advanced Mobility Engine (TEAM Engine) seeks to place Tennessee, the region of service, in the vanguard of this transformation while reducing reliance on carbon-intensive energy sources, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and creating a more equitable transportation system.

Tennessee aims to become the top state in the country for the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. The state is well on its way to meeting this goal, with four automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers producing EVs and $12B in investment in EV projects since 2017. The team aims to create a thriving advanced mobility ecosystem that strengthens Tennessee's leadership in the innovation economy, safeguards the environment, and enhances quality of life for Tennesseans.

TEAM Engine is a coalition of educational institutions; advanced industries; community and non-profit organizations; high-tech business incubators; accelerators and venture capital organizations; federal, state, and local government agencies; and economic development entities co-invested in the long-term advancement of Tennessee's innovation economy and the creation of mutual and reciprocal benefits for businesses, communities, and residents.

The objective in the development phase is the creation of use-inspired research, translation into practice, a workforce, and an ecosystem of partners and stakeholders' strategies that culminate in a roadmap that supports and sustains our growth, with a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility woven throughout each strategy. The project will generate streams of use-inspired R&D outcomes to foster advanced mobility industries, leveraging existing - and exploring the creation of new and open testbeds and facilities and facilities to support collaborative research, foster industry and community engagement, de-risk promising technologies; and developing and implementing new incentives and reward mechanisms for innovators and entrepreneurs to recognize their contributions to use-inspired R&D and technology commercialization.

TEAM Engine's partners have identified real-world R&D challenges to motivate efforts and investments beyond this award period, including lighter, safer, and more efficient EVs, batteries, faster and secure vehicle charging, mobility cybersecurity innovations, AI informed mobility for all, ground vehicle automation, and transportation informatics, and micromobility solutions as research areas of interest for the engine. The roadmap will include recommendations to the state to inform future investments and alignment of efforts and resources across the four strategic areas as TEAM Engine moves to become a full NSF Engine.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.