ENERGY
New Mexico must 鈥榢eep evolving鈥� incentives to attract fusion companies
Officials on Wednesday made their pitch at the Fusion Industry Association鈥檚 Supply Chain Trade Show
Will Regan has a message for New Mexico: Continue to create perks for fusion companies, and they will come.
鈥淜eep evolving the incentives,鈥� said Regan, founder and chief scientist of Pacific Fusion, a California company building a $1 billion research and manufacturing campus in Albuquerque. 鈥淭he sky鈥檚 really the limit with how much we can build in the state.鈥�
Regan was among a group of New Mexico scientists, university officials and economic development leaders who sat on a panel Wednesday at the Fusion Industry Association鈥檚 first-ever Supply Chain Trade Show 鈥� held at Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino 鈥� to make the case that the state is uniquely positioned to become a hub for fusion energy.
Mark Gilmore, a plasma scientist and professor at the University of New Mexico, said the state has the educational infrastructure that could help fusion companies.
The state鈥檚 two-year colleges offer electrical engineering programs. New Mexico Tech鈥檚 Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center offers 40 square miles of desert in Socorro to test explosives and energy systems. New Mexico State University is working on pulse power systems and magnets.
And, he said, UNM offers a nuclear engineering program that will soon feature a reactor lab where students can conduct radiation measurements.
鈥淔or smaller companies in particular who might not have the ability to build up resources on their own, we may be a good resource for you,鈥� Gilmore said.
Kathleen McDonald, a business development program manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said public-private partnerships in fusion are moving at a pace she hasn鈥檛 seen in her career 鈥� and that state support helps amplify federal dollars pouring into the industry.
鈥淭he door is open for anybody,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not in the business of picking winners.鈥�
New Mexico鈥檚 sovereign wealth fund has ballooned to $74 billion thanks to the shale boom. Bruce Brown, the State Investment Council鈥檚 head of strategic climate investing, said the fund is actively seeking to back the next generation of energy companies.
It has done so already by giving money to a group of venture capital firms 鈥� Lightspeed, Lowercarbon Capital, DCVC and UP.Partners 鈥� who then invested dollars into Pacific Fusion for its expansion.
鈥淲hat New Mexico wants is something to invest in that will replace our oil revenues,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淏ecause right now we are highly dependent on these revenues. They are coming in hand over fist. The Strait of Hormuz (closure) certainly has helped New Mexico鈥檚 revenues from our perspective. But we understand there鈥檚 an energy transition going on; it鈥檚 not going to last forever.鈥�
The remarks from local officials also came as the Fusion Industry Association released its 2026 report at the trade show focused on the industry鈥檚 supply chain.
The report, which included a survey of fusion energy companies, said suppliers are increasingly 鈥減utting their own capital on the line, with 75% of respondents making investments to expand capacity in the past year, with a median investment of $1 million.鈥�
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
