Quantum Technology Drives Innovation and Growth in Chattanooga
Nearly a century after the Tennessee Valley Authority brought electricity and economic momentum to the region, Greater Chattanooga is deploying infrastructure for the quantum era. The common thread is a vision of utilizing technology to drive business growth and unlock economic opportunity.
That vision catapulted Chattanooga into the national spotlight in 2010, when EPB, the area’s energy and connectivity company, completed a 100% fiber-optic network and became the first provider in the nation to offer communitywide gigabit internet. That announcement earned Chattanooga the nickname Gig City.
Unlocking Next-Generation Technology
Today, EPB still runs the fastest communitywide internet in the world, with speeds up to 25 gigabits per second available to every home and business in the area. EPB also uses the same fiber-optic network as the communications backbone of one of the most automated power distribution systems in the country. By opening new economic opportunities for the area while rerouting power to further reduce outages by up to 55% each year, EPB’s cutting-edge energy and communications investments generated $5.3 billion in community benefit during the first 15 years of operation, according to a peer-reviewed study.
In 2023, the company went further, launching EPB Quantum Network©, the country’s first commercially available quantum network.
The next phase arrived this year. Through a $22 million partnership with IonQ, a global leader in quantum technology, the EPB Quantum CenterSM is the first U.S. facility to provide commercial access to both quantum computing and quantum networking. The center houses a cutting-edge IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer, which can tackle complex business optimization problems, like improving multivariable supply chain routing, far more effectively than conventional computers.
In addition, IonQ recently announced it is investing $15 million over the next five years to open a Quantum Memory research and development lab in Chattanooga, which will advance quantum communications and drive local economic growth and job creation.
As it did with making fiber-optic broadband much more available, EPB sells access time to make it easy for Tennessee companies to utilize the quantum computing and networking resources. Consequently, businesses across the Greater Chattanooga region have the rare benefit of being able to use the nation’s only commercially available quantum resources to lead their industries.
Quantum Hub
Janet Rehberg, EPB CEO, emphasizes the strategic value of giving Tennessee companies a quantum advantage.
“Quantum computing is no longer theoretical,” Rehberg says. “We’re helping business leaders understand how companies can benefit from quantum technology today, so they can lead their industry tomorrow as this paradigm-shifting technology advances.”
That forward-looking strategy is already yielding tangible economic returns for the region.
“Since launching EPB Quantum Network, we’ve seen EPB’s initial investment more than pay for itself while positioning our community for millions in additional private investment and federal funding,” says Vicky Gregg, EPB board chair.
At the center, EPB and IonQ are jointly developing practical applications for securing and optimizing the power grid – work that could improve reliability and lower costs for customers while protecting critical systems from cyberattacks.
Translating Infrastructure Into Innovation
The investment reflects more than civic pride. McKinsey’s Quantum Technology Monitor 2026 projects that quantum use cases can create approximately $2.7 trillion in global value over the next five to 10 years. Chattanooga already has deep roots in several of the sectors projected to benefit the most, including automotive manufacturing, logistics, energy storage and insurance.
CO.LAB, Chattanooga’s nonprofit startup accelerator, launched a Quantum Tech Accelerator that helps founders turn cutting-edge quantum research into real-world companies, offering mentorship, pilot opportunities and access to the very infrastructure EPB built.
CO.LAB is already a co-recipient of a National Science Foundation grant for grid security using quantum and a LaunchTN grant recipient for quantum commercialization across Tennessee. CO.LAB has also established collaborations with EPB, Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative, TVA, IonQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
“World-class infrastructure creates economic impact when entrepreneurs and companies can put it to work,” says Tasia Malakasis, CEO of CO.LAB. “The EPB Quantum Center gives Chattanooga a competitive advantage that very few regions can offer, and CO.LAB’s role is to help founders turn that advantage into new products, new companies and new jobs.”
By connecting startups with access to quantum computing, quantum networking, industry partners and pilot opportunities, CO.LAB is helping to build a commercialization pipeline that can position Chattanooga as one of the nation’s leading centers for quantum innovation, she says.
For a site selector, the lesson is consistency. Chattanooga has spent decades out-investing comparable cities in the infrastructure of the future, then opening that infrastructure to the businesses as a platform for growth and innovation.
The EPB Quantum Center is scheduled to be fully operational in 2026 – proof that this is a thriving region that builds tomorrow before anyone asks it to.
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