By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Dan Miller verbalized a thought that was bouncing around in my head about a third of the way through yesterday morning’s “Spark Cleantech Accelerator Demo Day.” As Miller introduced four of the five participants in Cohort 6 of the “Innovation Crossroads” (IC) program operated by ORNL, he commented on how many exciting … Read More

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA “We are in a very unique position,” says Ryan Ginder, Founder of Windfall. “No one can do what we can do with end-of-life composite materials. We have a chance to not be the Coca-Cola of recycling, but the soda itself.” That’s a lofty vision and goal for the Research Assistant Professor in the Department … Read More

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA When Ed Chan had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural cohort of the “Spark Cleantech Accelerator” at the University of Tennessee Research Park (UTRP), he jumped at the opportunity, and the program has not disappointed the resident of Cincinnati. “This one is by far the best I have attended,” the longtime corporate executive says. “The content is … Read More

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA If you are old enough like me, you should remember the time when the milkman delivered milk in a bottle to your home and retrieved the used bottles to be cleaned and reused. It was recycling and environmental sustainability long before the terms were widely spoken. Today, a Johnson City couple – Kay Baker … Read More

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA Any mentor advising a new entrepreneur will tell that person that one of her or his top priorities is to build a network early on, and it was that network that helped bring jhana porter – she prefers the all lower case spelling – to Knoxville and the new “Spark Cleantech Accelerator.” The resident … Read More

David Castley is focused on fixing a challenging problem for city residents. It’s the lack of cost-effective and efficient commuting options for residents, whether for work or personal travel. “The average wait time for public transit in a big city is 40 minutes,” the current resident of Philadelphia, PA says. Add to that crime that can be a problem, and … Read More

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA “I admire and appreciate the innovation you are pursuing and the fact that you are doing it here,” Marty Brown, PYA President and Chief Executive Officer, told the leaders of the five start-ups participating in the inaugural “Spark Cleantech Accelerator” during a presentation on Wednesday. Titled “Early Stage Companies: Each Move Counts!,” Brown mixed lessons from his more … Read More

In the short term, we hope to build a safer battery that is more energy dense and has a lower price point, reducing the overall cost of electric vehicles and grid storage. Lithium-ion batteries impact every facet of our daily lives. They influence the weight, size and functionality of all consumer electronic devices. As more electric vehicles hit the road, … Read More

(EDITOR’S NOTE: As mentioned in last Tuesday’s feature article about the recent visit of the top leaders and others from Queen City Angels to Knoxville and the “Entrepreneurship Bootcamp” that the organization conducted, this is the final article that summarizes advice offered to local entrepreneurs during the session.) By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA Ahead of a panel discussion and reception that wrapped-up the Queen … Read More