The Southern Tier Innovation Hub
Bring Your Business to the Heart of New York
Come to the Future of Business and Next-Generation Manufacturing
The genius of American manufacturing was established in New York’s Southern Tier and forward-thinking companies are keeping that spirit alive today.
The Southern Tier has always been a hub for innovation and revolutionary companies. IBM was founded in the area and emerged as a global technology leader. The flight simulator and the flexible photographic film were also invented in Binghamton, leading to a notable concentration of electronics- and aerospace/defense-oriented firms and the transitioning to a high-tech economy.
That pioneering tradition is stronger than ever today with new big ideas in technology, transportation, advanced manufacturing and agriculture: from cutting-edge transportation equipment and powerful batteries that make cell phones and rail cars more efficient
to advancing train technologies at light speed. Southern Tier incubators are working collaboratively to leverage resources and support regional entrepreneurs through the Southern Tier Startup Alliance, the region’s NYSTAR-designated and funded Innovation Hot Spot. The region has well-established innovation clusters in clean energy, food and agriculture, and advanced manufacturing.
With leading multinationals (such as Corning Inc., Lockheed Martin, IBM) side by side with research-focused universities (such as Cornell and SUNY Binghamton) the Southern Tier holds more patents per capita than almost anywhere else in the United States. It has become a home for the business leaders of tomorrow.
National leader in innovation and integration of battery technologies and the energy storage sector
New battery storage technologies are a key mechanism for achieving the transition to clean energy and broaden energy access around the world. Led by 2019 Nobel Laureate M. Stanley Whittingham’s ground-breaking R&D in lithium-ion batteries, the Southern Tier has developed a competitive energy storage industry cluster with national impact. C4V – a local lithium-ion battery technology startup company – has built a lithium-ion battery gigafactory in Endicott, NY. This is New York State’s first battery gigafactory, projected to generate more than 1,000 new direct jobs over the next five years. The gigafactory and the emerging energy storage ecosystem are driving the establishment of a battery development and manufacturing hub in Upstate New York.
Binghamton University is home to one of New York State’s six Centers of Excellence – the Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging Center, part of its Innovative Technologies Complex. Renewable energy is powering up at the complex, with research and testing of battery energy efficiency and storage at the state-of-the-art NECCES Battery “dry room.”
The Southern Tier Clean Energy Incubator was launched in 2017 as one of six NYSERDA- funded business incubators in New York State. Since its inception the Incubator has supported growing clean energy startups from across the nation and beyond, with 40 companies currently active in the program with a focus on climate tech solutions such as solar, energy storage, carbon reduction, waste heat capture and more.
Pioneer in food and agriculture technologies
With the global reach and strengths of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences the Southern Tier is becoming a world-recognized leader in agriculture technology. Research institutions and resources across the region help develop and support new agribusiness ventures, and fuel a rapidly growing innovation ag hub. Most recently the hub has incorporated the advancement of industrial hemp research and innovation. New York state has invested over $10 million in grant funding for researchers and processors. Geneva, NY, is the location of the nation’s first industrial hemp seed bank.
Magnet for advanced manufacturing and transportation
The growing transportation, clean energy, battery technology & energy storage, industrial hemp and adult-use cannabis industry sectors are elevating the Southern Tier as an attractive destination for manufacturing business and supply chain development. Distinguished by its concentration of multinational anchor companies, infrastructure to support innovation and technology, rich education and research resources, specialized skilled workforce, and vibrant communities, the Southern Tier is poised to become a national leader in next-generation manufacturing.
