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Corker, Kelly compare Chattanooga quantum institute to Volkswagen

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Former U.S. Sen. and Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker speaks during a fireside chat at the Rotary Club of Chattanooga meeting at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Former U.S. Sen. and Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker speaks during a fireside chat at the Rotary Club of Chattanooga meeting at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

By Daniel Dassow December 11, 2025 7 min read

Vanderbilt University’s launch of a quantum institute with EPB in Chattanooga will be as transformative as Volkswagen’s only U.S. plant locating here, said Mayor Tim Kelly and former Mayor and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker in a joint appearance.

“I think this is one of those defining moments,” Corker said at a Rotary meeting Thursday at the Chattanooga Convention Center. “This is something of national consequence for us, and we need to take advantage of it.”

The board of EPB, the city-owned utility, approved start-up funding Wednesday for the Institute of Quantum Innovation with Vanderbilt. The prestigious Nashville university plans to locate up to 260 faculty, staff and students at the Chattanooga center.

EPB and Vanderbilt are looking for sites downtown for the institute, EPB spokesperson J.Ed. Marston said in an interview. The utility has not announced a timeline for opening the institute, to which it will give $750,000 a year for three years.