Virginia Tech-backed energy tech hub opens in Newport News

A Virginia Tech-backed energy initiative that launched last fall opened its first dedicated space Wednesday at Tech Center Research Park in Newport News, part of a broader effort to position Hampton Roads as a center for next-generation energy development.

The project has received about $2.7 million in initial funding, including a $1.2 million grant from GO Virginia and $1.5 million in matching funds from a mix of public and private partners, including Virginia Tech, the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, the City of Newport News, W.M. Jordan and ITA International.

The Secure Energy Future Center, or SEFC, is housed in a newly built-out, roughly 2,500-square-foot suite on the third floor of an existing research park building. The space is designed to serve as a convening hub for energy companies, researchers and government partners, with access to office and training space, and shares a floor with other Virginia Tech operations.

For now, SEFC is operating as an innovation and collaboration space, offering meeting rooms, energy education training programs and access to resources. The new space includes a large LED visualization wall and interactive displays. At the center, startups and small firms will be able to use short-term workspace, while companies can also lease or build dedicated facilities within the research park. The center aims to be a hub for workforce development, energy education, innovation, testing and economic development.

Center’s goals

Chelsea Olivieri, managing director of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and SEFC, said the organization is working with partners such as the Dominion Energy Innovation Center and 757 Collab to design an energy-focused accelerator program, with a target launch in the fall, contingent on additional funding.

She said details such as how many startups the center will host at one time, how companies will be selected and the structure of accelerator cohorts have not yet been finalized.

Olivieri said the center is designed to address gaps in the region’s energy industry, particularly as companies face growing challenges around energy availability and cost. She said businesses often lacked a single place to understand how the energy system works or to connect with partners to test and deploy new technologies.

“We like to say we want to be The Ritz-Carlton, so you can come and we’ll be your concierge and connect you with where you need to go, even if it’s not us,” Olivieri said. “And we don’t want to compete with someone that’s already doing something well. We just want to be the hub.”

Long-term vision

She noted the new center location is adjacent to Jefferson Lab, in close proximity to NASA’s Langley Research Center and Newport News Shipbuilding.

“So we just have so many strategic assets right here,” she said. “But we really can build whatever a company needs here at the park, and then they can access all these world-class facilities within minutes.”

Officials said the center could also play a role in the nuclear sector, particularly by supporting workforce training and connecting companies working on related technologies. Plans also include developing “testbeds” — real-world sites where companies can pilot and validate energy technologies — on roughly 27 acres owned by the Newport News Economic Development Authority within the 100-acre research park. Those facilities are still in the planning stage.

“We’re meeting with companies all the time here, and there’s active planning around, obviously, the test bed and the nature of what that could be,” Olivieri said. “We’re conducting interviews of large, commercial, industrial customers. So there’s a lot already happening.”

SEFC is also part of a broader regional economic development strategy known as the Hampton Roads Playbook, which focuses on four key sectors: defense, energy, aerospace and logistics.

Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance, said energy has become a central factor in business attraction, particularly as demand rises due to data centers, artificial intelligence and industrial growth. For that reason, he said, having the local public educated on matters of energy is crucial.

One of the center’s first active programs is a series of energy education courses aimed not just at students, but at local officials, planners and economic developers.

The courses, which launched in January, cover topics such as natural gas, nuclear power, offshore wind, solar and energy storage, and are taught by industry experts. Participants who complete the program receive a credential from Virginia Tech.

Smith said the goal is to help decision-makers better understand complex energy systems as they face increasingly consequential land-use and infrastructure decisions.

“I don’t mind if we disagree about a decision, as long as we’re all working from the same set of facts about whatever it is,” Smith said.

SEFC currently operates with a small team of about four staff members drawn from the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and the university’s outreach division, with plans to expand as additional funding becomes available.

“The beauty, I think, here, is that the world is our oyster,” said Olivieri. “We have a lot of opportunity to build around what the market is demanding.”