The Future Is Made of Grass!
Tennessee’s next manufacturing breakthrough may begin in a field. Researchers are betting that perennial grasses grown on underused farmland could someday become raw material for cars, buildings and packaging.
When Farmland Joins the Supply Chain
That is the idea behind BRIDGES, a new regional initiative co-led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alongside HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Auburn University, AGgrow Tech and Volkswagen Group of America.
The project has won up to $160 million over 10 years through the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines program, which is designed to build long-term technology and economic-development ecosystems in regions that have missed much of the country’s recent technology boom.
For Tennessee, the interesting part starts at ground level.
Researchers plan to develop specially bred perennial grasses grown on underused farmland in Tennessee and Alabama, then convert that biomass into materials for automotive, construction and packaging products. UT’s research team brings experience in turning biomass into bioproducts, while industry partners help connect the science to products companies might actually use.
That creates a supply chain with an unusual first stop: the farm.
From Acres to Factory Floors
BRIDGES is one of 12 projects selected in NSF’s second Regional Innovation Engines cohort. The NSF announcement describes the program as an effort to connect research, workforce development and regional economic growth over a decade rather than funding a short burst of laboratory work.
The ambitions in Tennessee are substantial. Project leaders estimate the effort could generate tens of millions of dollars in additional annual income for farmers in Tennessee and Alabama, attract more than $2 billion in private capital investment and create thousands of manufacturing and supply-chain jobs. More than 10,000 people are projected to participate in technical, agricultural and manufacturing training.
Those numbers matter, but the bigger shift may be conceptual.
For generations, Tennessee farms have supplied food, feed and fiber. BRIDGES asks whether some of those same acres could become industrial infrastructure, supplying renewable ingredients to factories that currently depend heavily on petroleum-based materials.
If the model works, rural economic development could start looking less like convincing a factory to move into town and more like building an industry around what the surrounding land can grow.
The factory of the future may still have loading docks and assembly lines. Its supply chain might simply smell a little more like freshly cut grass.
To find more of the farms and producers already rooted in Tennessee communities, browse the Guide to Tennessee directory at https://www.guidetotennessee.com/produce-markets-local-farms.
