Episode 16: Liliana Ramirez of Ford Motor Company

In this episode, Host Cortney Piper interviews Monica Walker, Manager of Renewables & Energy Strategy at General Motors.

GM has a bold vision for the future. One with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. Piper and Walker discuss GM’s renewable energy commitments, electric vehicle charging partnership with the Pilot Company and Spring Hill Manufacturing facility operations. They also cover how GM was an early adopter of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Green Invest program.

Learn more about TAEBC and GM.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Host Cortney Piper interviews Jennifer Safavian, President and Chief Executive Officer of Autos Drive America. Autos Drive America’s mission is to grow the U.S. automotive industry by advocating for and defending open trade and investment policies that expand employment opportunities for Americans and choice for all consumers.

 Cortney and Jennifer discuss the international automotive presence in Tennessee, how the IRA and other recent federal policies impact the sector, and Autos Drive America’s 2023 Economic Impact Report. Their report found international automakers built 413,746 vehicles in the Volunteer State, creating 109,352 local jobs in Tennessee and contributing $15.7 billion to the state GSP.

Learn more about TAEBC and Autos Drive America.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

In what is likely Host Cortney Piper’s favorite interview to date, she interviews Liliana Ramirez, Global Director of Workforce Development at Ford. Ramirez is responsible for using cutting-edge strategies to build the manufacturing workforce required for BlueOval City and BlueOval SK Battery Park. 

In this episode, they discuss Ramirez’s 30+ year career at Ford, her passion for her work and how the company has changed since she joined in the early 1990s. The two also discuss Ford’s ambitious approach to workforce development, including BlueOval Learning and how it plans to fill 6,000 new jobs in West Tennessee!

Learn more about TAEBC and Ford's BlueOval City.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

How can we advance mobility solutions for all Tennesseans? In this episode, Host Cortney Piper interviews Dr. Kevin Heaslip, Director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

Heaslip also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of TEAM TN, a partnership with the National Science Foundation and an alliance of 100 academics, industry, and technical societies led by UT Knoxville. TEAM TN’s goal is to position Tennessee on the leading edge of transportation electrification and digitization.

Learn more about TAEBC, the Center for Transportation Research, and TEAM TN.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Host Cortney Piper interviews Gina Bonini, Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Thermal Systems at Modine. Modine is the only U.S.-based automotive thermal management provider for electric vehicles. They are headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin, but the EV component manufacturing occurs at their plant in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

Modine has a rich history of automotive thermal management, dating back to the first radiator installed on the Ford Model T. Now, Modine is at the forefront of making zero-emissions mobility a reality for all vehicle classes and duty cycles. 

Listen to Piper and Bonini talk about thermal management and why it is so critical for electrification, how Modine is overcoming engineering challenges to keep heavy-duty EVs viable in dirty and severe environments and about Modine's presence in Tennessee.

Learn more about TAEBC and Modine.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

In the first episode of Season 2, Host Cortney Piper interviews Julian Spector, senior reporter at Canary Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom covering the transition to clean energy and solutions to the climate crisis. The pair spoke about Spector’s recent coverage of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s decarbonization efforts and the Southeast’s journey toward becoming a major electric vehicle and battery supply chain hub. The episode provides a bird’s eye view of the clean energy transition in Tennessee and beyond.

Learn more about TAEBC and Spector. Read more of Spector’s work on Canary Media, including his recent coverage of the region:

• The South is building the most vibrant EV and battery hub in the US
• Is the biggest US public utility finally catching up on clean energy?

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Today, we’re asking the question, “Why Tennessee?” Why are so many advanced energy companies moving to or expanding operations in our state? 

In 2021, Ford committed to a $5.6 billion investment in West Tennessee for electric vehicle production at its BlueOval City campus. Last year, WACKER, a German-based polysilicon manufacturer and long-time TAEBC member, announced a $200 million expansion at its facility in Charleston, Tennessee. We could go on and on. 

To discuss why so many advanced energy companies are choosing Tennessee, Host Cortney Piper will speak with Heath Jones, Managing Director of Hitachi Zosen Inova’s North American operations, about why the company recently relocated its headquarters and expanded its operations in East Tennessee.

Learn more about TAEBC and HZI.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

For this episode, Energizing Tennessee is changing its format – or rather, its host – a little bit. Steve Seifried, Tennessee Account Executive for Ameresco and President of the Board for the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council, is your guest host for today’s conversation.

In this episode, Seifried and his guests will explore how manufacturers in our state are meeting their sustainability goals with advanced energy and other innovative solutions. He’ll speak with: 

• Gideon Sarpong Sr. Ph.D, PE., Environment, Health and Safety Manager, Nucor Steel Memphis
• Don Haynes​, Environmental/Sustainability Manager, Florim USA
• Shawn Bryant, Senior Manager of Health and Environment, DENSO  

He will also speak with a Tennessee Greenstar Partnership (TGSP) representative about the program and how it supports Tennessee manufacturers. That representative is Caleb Powell, Environmental Scientist 2 in the Office of Sustainable Practices, Division of Stakeholder Engagement at the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Learn more about TAEBC, Nucor Steel Memphis, Florim USA, DENSO and TGSP. 

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council has four commitments to our members. In this episode, we’re focusing on one: Foster the growth of Tennessee's advanced energy startups. TAEBC doesn’t just want advanced energy startups to launch in the state, we want them to grow, thrive and stay here.

Today, we’re speaking with Harvey Abouelata, Vice President of Commercial Solar at Solar Alliance, and Dr. Bianca Bailey, CEO of Agriwater. In the episode, host Cortney Piper talks with Abouelata and Dr. Bailey about the importance of mentorship, programs that support early-stage companies, and how solar power and wastewater treatment systems go together like peanut butter and jelly – more on that analogy in our episode. And listen all the way to the end of the episode to hear a special clip of Dr. Bailey playing the saxophone.

Solar Alliance is a TAEBC member. Abouelata is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence in TAEBC’s Energy Mentor Network program, run in partnership with Launch Tennessee. Agriwater is in Cohort Six of the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a two-year program for fellows focusing on energy and advanced manufacturing technologies.

Learn more about TAEBC, Solar Alliance and Agriwater. 

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Tennessee is rooted in nuclear energy innovation. And today, Oak Ridge is a thriving epicenter for next-generation nuclear technology. So, what are we doing today? And what does next-generation nuclear energy even look like?

To dive into today’s topic, we’re first speaking with Tracy Boatner, President of the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), an organization dedicated to supporting the federal government’s missions in Oak Ridge. We’ll discuss the power of partnerships and why our region is ripe for nuclear innovation. 

We’ll also talk with Mike Laufer, CEO of Kairos Power, about advanced nuclear innovation, why the company chose East Tennessee to build its demonstration reactor and what an advanced nuclear future looks like. Kairos Power is an engineering company focused on delivering a clean, affordable and safe energy solution through the integrated design, licensing and demonstration of advanced reactor technology.

Learn more about TAEBC, ETEC and Kairos Power.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor FirstBank.

To keep up-to-date with the latest episodes, follow TAEBC on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.