Manufacturing has long played a major role in Tennessee’s economy. Manufacturers recognize the competitive advantages that Tennessee has to offer: an ideal location, a strong transportation infrastructure, low business costs, and a high-quality workforce.
The State of Tennessee and ORNL are working together to strengthen Tennessee’s manufacturing sector and to create better-paying jobs for Tennesseans. RevV was launched by the State of Tennessee in July 2015 to help industries tackle their toughest manufacturing problems with the expertise and resources at ORNL.
The state initially provided $2.5 million in funds to offset costs for Tennessee companies to access world-leading ORNL researchers and facilities, enabling a new level of product development and process innovation. Over the following years, the state added another $3.7 million to the program.
RevV is managed by the University of Tennessee and ORNL, with the goal of building Tennessee manufacturers’ competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
ORNL is the nation’s largest science and energy laboratory, and its presence in Tennessee is a positive differentiator for the state’s economic development and recruitment efforts. ORNL’s resources for innovation in manufacturing include R&D programs in advanced materials, innovative processing, transportation technologies, and automation and controls, as well as forefront modeling and simulation capabilities and eight Department of Energy user facilities.
Since its inception, RevV has worked with more than 30 companies across Tennessee.