Quantum will push EPB innovation to $10B impact by 2035, study finds

EPB / Quantum computing company IonQ provided a specialized quantum computing chip to EPB called an ion trap, which fixes an ion in space as the physical unit of information in the computer. EPB / Quantum computing company IonQ provided a specialized quantum computing chip to EPB called an ion trap, which fixes an ion in space as the physical unit of information in the computer.

By Daniel Dassow November 21, 2025 6 min read

Chattanooga’s internet and electricity provider has been ahead of multiple national technology trends, and its leadership on the next era of computing will contribute to $10 billion of economic impact by 2035, according to a peer-reviewed study.

It’s a conservative estimate, according to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga professor who led the research for EPB. By 2035, the utility will likely have put Chattanooga on the map as America’s “Quantum City” as well as “Gig City,” said Bento Lobo, department head of finance and economics at UTC.

“My approach, as many of you will know, is always to err on the side of underestimating than overestimating. I’m very conservative with the numbers,” Lobo told the EPB board on Friday. “I think we’ll be over those numbers by the time 2035 comes around, but I’m comfortable presenting them now.”

The report includes the impact of EPB’s automated smart grid, fiber optics network and the future impact of its quantum computing and networking center.