< Previous74 JULY 2024 SITE SELECTION Pennsylvania and West Virginia With locations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, West Virginia, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) “drives innovation and delivers solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future.” NETL recently hosted undergraduate students from colleges and universities in western Pennsylvania without large in-house research programs as part of an initiative to expand the talent pool of next- generation researchers with STEM skills. The students came from Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania; Chatham University in Pittsburgh; and the Community College of Allegheny County. The tour was organized with Pittsburgh- based STEMNetX, a nonprofit that aims to increase the participation of undergraduates in high-impact research experiences and empower them to become future leaders in STEM fields. Topics included multiphase computational fluid dynamics modeling, optimizing carbon storage and other subsurface activities through real time data analytics, advanced sensors for energy infrastructure, and low-cost, compact optical sensors for rare earth elements and other critical metals. Not far from where 5G systems testing is ongoing, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Flatirons Campus includes this 1MW photovoltaic array near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Photo by Werner Slocum courtesy of NREL SITE SELECTION JULY 2024 75 “From a workforce development perspective, it was important to bring these students on-site and encourage them to continue in their STEM-related studies so they are prepared to serve as the innovators who will make exciting discoveries for a sustainable energy future,” said NETL’s Scott Crawford, a research chemist. “When they are ready to enter the job market or apply for internships, these local students will remember there’s really a great national lab that focuses on clean energy, addressing climate change and developing innovative technologies right in their backyard.” Colorado Known for its picturesque setting by the Rocky Mountains, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado lately has been engaged in work testing how G networks can facilitate microgrid controls, improve microgrid operational effi ciency and latency, and test a microgrid’s resilience against cyber threat scenarios. “Whether it is coincidence or careful planning,” the NREL said in May, “the infrastructures of both power systems and telecommunications are heading in a similar direction: toward the edge. Solar panels on a roof are like G towers in a neighborhood — in both cases, distributed assets increasingly underpin these important systems.” Targeted for military use, the work also allowed NREL to demonstrate how “utilities might use G to the benefi t of network security, recovery, and costs. And now with a realistic communications testing ground at NREL, partners can ensure utilities will function when most needed in contested environments.”76 JULY 2024 SITE SELECTION Tony Markel, an NREL senior researcher and project lead, said of the lab’s work, “We plan to use this project as a development platform for research capabilities that can be replicated in the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) Cyber Range … Industry led these eff orts by planning a modular and open G architecture, and we are researching new ways to use its features in the electricity grid,” Markel said. “Millions of energy devices will become interconnected, and our research is showing the path to distributed, resilient, secure, and energy- effi cient operations building on the G foundation.” New Jersey e roots of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) go back to “when magnetic fusion research at Princeton began under the code name ‘Project Matterhorn,’ ” the lab says. “Lyman Spitzer, Jr., professor of astronomy at Princeton University, conceived of a plasma being confi ned in a fi gure-eight-shaped tube by an externally generated magnetic fi eld. He called this concept the ‘stellarator,’ and took this design before the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington. Shortly thereafter, this Laboratory was born.” e lab’s work at Princeton University’s Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, New Jersey, is connected to a range of applications related in some way to plasma, the ionized gas in fusion reactions. Among them is partnering with commercial fusion companies to work toward the goal of achieving commercial fusion energy by or . e lab broke ground in May on the new ,-sq.-ft., $. million Princeton Plasma Innovation Center (PPIC), an offi ce and lab building that provides space for research supporting PPPL’s expanded mission into microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and sustainability sciences. It’s the fi rst new building on the campus since the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) in . Tim Meyer, COO for PPPL, said the new building “is literally going to be a place where this Laboratory and its stakeholders will push the frontiers of discovery and innovation in partnership with collaborators from around the region and the world.” INVESTMENT PROFILE: GREATER ORLANDO AVIATION AUTHORITY HOW TO BUILD AN AIRPORT CITY Orlando International Airport and Lake Nona draft the blueprint. T ucked into a -square-mile area of southeast Orlando are two contiguous developments shaping the future of America’s most visited city: Orlando International Airport and Lake Nona. A magnet for million visitors each year, Greater Orlando is not just the king of tourism in the Western Hemisphere. It is also providing the world with a blueprint for the future of transportation infrastructure, economic development, and thriving business and commerce centers. At the center of this confl uence is a place billed as the world’s next great Airport City — where Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Lake Nona come together. How important is this -square-mile location? Consider this: • MCO ranked as the seventh busiest airport in the U.S. last year, welcoming nearly million passengers. • Contiguous to the airport is Lake Nona, one of the fastest-growing communities in the U.S. Lake Nona is a smart city known for its innovation and sustainability. Home to cutting- edge medical and research institutions, it fosters a thriving health, wellness and technology ecosystem that regularly lands new corporate facility projects. • MCO’s new Terminal C expands its capacity to accommodate millions more passengers annually. Led by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority’s (GOAA) Strategic Plan, MCO is set to lead in mobility and connectivity. Kevin J. ibault, CEO of GOAA, says this is just the beginning. “ e past years presented the travel industry with a number of challenging periods. rough it all, GOAA maintained its commitment to providing a world-class travel experience for all passengers at Orlando International Airport,” he says. “GOAA concentrated on keeping the airport community focused and engaged, and it showed in the remarkable resiliency demonstrated in the wake of downturns. MCO traffi c has returned robustly since , when . million passengers traveled through the airport, to nearly million in .” ibault says that the Airport City concept is crucial to Orlando’s next phase of growth. “Leveraging a vibrant ecosystem, including aerospace, high-tech companies and educational institutions, by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.com 78 JULY 2024 SITE SELECTION Orlando International Airport is the busiest in Florida, serving 58 million passengers per year. Photos courtesy of GOAA Lake Nona Town Center is the commercial hub of the burgeoning Airport City in Orlando. Photo courtesy of Tavistock Development Company will create the potential for an Airport City. This will be a pivotal hub for the region and the state,” he notes. Rail, eVTOLs Enter the Mix MCO plans to build on its Airport City hub by adding high-speed rail connectivity and electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). “Our vision is to be the global leader in the evolution of mobility,” says Thibault. “Brightline began intercity rail service in September of 2023 between Orlando International Airport and Miami, with four stops in between, and more Florida routes planned. Multiple trains arrive and depart daily from the Train Station, which is on MCO property, with access to Terminal C and Parking Garage C. Brightline also operates a vehicle maintenance facility at MCO for any needed service to the trains. Ultimately, we will have commuter and other rail connections.” Lilium, a German company now operating in Orlando, came to the region through a collaboration with Lake Nona. Lilium has developed the eVTOLs that will shuttle passengers between major airport hubs in Orlando, Tampa, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, etc. MCO is not done expanding either. Thibault says plans are in the works to refresh and renovate the first and second levels of Terminals A and B, along with Airsides 1 and 3, which service Gates 1-59; relocate all car rental operations to a Consolidated Rental Car Facility, which would free up 5,000 parking spaces on airport property; and replace the Automated People Mover systems to Airsides 2 and 4, which service gates 70-129. “All of these projects will enhance the passenger journey and enable MCO to remain a world-class airport,” he says. All Roads Lead to the Airport City Rasesh Thakkar, senior managing director of Tavistock Group, the developer of Lake Nona, says all roads lead to the Airport City. MCO is now the largest transportation hub in Florida, he says. “That is what we dream about here — an Airport City embedded into the city of the future. Where else can you find 37 square miles of land with just two owners collaborating to create an unparalleled quality of life within the city limits of Orlando, a globally renowned destination and the most visited city in the nation? It doesn’t exist.” Which is why Lake Nona and MCO are working together to enhance that Airport City concept, he adds. “If you are interested in being right next to the airport while also being located amongst the best in technology, education and health care, that place is Lake Nona. If a company wants to locate in a buzzy downtown center location with the airport just a few minutes away, they can come here. MCO and Lake Nona recognize the powerful synergies of collaboration. An Airport City can transform a region if it is done right.” The growth of MCO into Florida’s busiest airport is a turning point, Thakkar says. “The capacity here now is 100 million passengers. This will be the biggest multimodal transportation hub in the southeastern United States.” Thakkar says the long-term vision for Lake Nona is to create the city of the future today. “We are a long way toward accomplishing that goal,” he says. “Our three foundational elements are education, technology, and health and well-being. Our schools range from pre-K to M.D./Ph.D.” A growing cadre of companies is buying into this dream. Both KMPG and the U.S. Tennis Association placed their national training centers in Lake Nona along with SIMCOM and the VA’s national center for medical simulation training. Several other companies have also located their headquarters in Lake Nona. “KPMG has grown beyond their highest expectations. At USTA, over 300 colleges and universities play there every year,” Thakkar says. “It has grown to over 300,000 attendees a year. We are passionate about the story here. Lake Nona is one of the best-kept secrets in the country.” SITE SELECTION JULY 2024 79 Orlando International Airport spans 20 square miles and is adjacent to Lake Nona, a community of 17 square miles. Together, they comprise the new Airport City of Central Florida. Map courtesy of Tavistock Group This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Tavistock Development Company. For more information, contact Vicki Jaramillo at vjaramillo@goaa.org. For sales and leasing inquiries, contact Tavistock Development Company at contact@tavistock.com or (407) 552-1141.80 JULY 2024 SITE SELECTION ‘And the Sun Shines on the Bay’ e San Francisco Bay area is still the world’s startup capital even as everyday support systems need a reboot. by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS T riangulation was a thing even before University of Southern California basketball coach Sam Barry and his player- turned-coach Tex Winter popularized the triangle off ense. e practice — which, strictly defi ned, involves dividing an area into triangles in order to measure or map it — works for data sets too. In recent years Site Selection has showcased the fi ndings of Startup Genome’s annual ranking of top global startup ecosystems. is year, aided by the data analysis of Site Selection Director of Programming & Analytics Daniel Boyer, we have created a simple but robust mashup based on a composite of Startup Genome’s fi ndings and two other sources: the StartupBlink Index and the VC Ecosystem Rankings from PitchBook. A view of Oakland, California with the San Francisco Bay in the background. Photo by alacatr: Getty Images82 JULY 2024 SITE SELECTION Without further ado, here are the top 30 in that composite picture: StartupBlink, based in Zurich, Switzerland, calls itself “the world’s most comprehensive startup ecosystem map and research center,” with a map tracking “tens of thousands of registered startups, coworking spaces and accelerators, creating a robust sample of innovation worldwide.” Among the organization’s endorsements is this one involving site selection RANKREGIONSTATECOUNTRY 1San FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States 2New YorkNew YorkUnited States 3LondonEnglandUnited Kingdom 3Los AngelesCaliforniaUnited States 5Beijing China 6BostonMassachusettsUnited States 7Shanghai China 8Tel Aviv Israel 9SeattleWashingtonUnited States 10Tokyo-Yokohama Japan 11WashingtonD.C.United States 12Singapore Singapore 13Berlin Germany 14Seoul South Korea 15Paris France 16San DiegoCaliforniaUnited States 17ChicagoIllinoisUnited States 18ShenzhenGuangdongChina 19AustinTexasUnited States 20BengaluruKarnatakaIndia 21São PauloSão PauloBrazil 22StockholmUppland & SödermanlandSweden 23AmsterdamNoord-HollandNetherlands 24DenverColoradoUnited States 25HangzhouZhejiangChina 26MiamiFloridaUnited States 27MumbaiMaharashtraIndia 27PhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUnited States 29AtlantaGeorgiaUnited States 29Salt Lake CityUtahUnited StatesNext >