The SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy (SC NEXUS), South Carolina’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hub), named Cristina Paredes the tech hub’s inaugural executive director Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. An accomplished economic development professional, Paredes brings over two decades of experience in leadership and consulting to the advanced resilient energy consortium.

On Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, S.C. Commerce and SC Nexus leadership welcomed Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Cristina Killingsworth and other U.S. Economic Development Administration staff to South Carolina for a multi-city junket as part of the federal agency’s “Great American Tech Hubs Tour.”

As utility demands rise, so too does the need for a diverse and secure power supply. 

Deputy Secretary of Commerce Ashely Teasdel recently spoke at the South Carolina Advanced Nuclear Forum, alongside utility, higher education and advanced energy partners including Governor Henry McMaster.

With a focus on FDI and promoting the benefits of doing business in South Carolina, S.C. Commerce representatives led a diverse state delegation at the 2024 SelectUSA Investment Summit June 23-26, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland.

On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) named the SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy (SC NEXUS) one of 12 tech hub recipients of the agency’s implementation funding round. SC NEXUS will receive $45 million from the federal agency, divided among four of the six projects included in S.C. Commerce’s phase two funding application.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is pivotal to South Carolina’s economy, accounting for more than 30% of announced economic development investments in 2023 alone. Today, over 1,100 internationally owned operations exist statewide — even for those with locations throughout the world, South Carolina-based operations stand out in helping drive global success.