Talk to anyone involved with technology and startups in New Mexico, and you'll hear clear expressions of excitement. And for good reason.
The state has two national labs, a strong military-industrial presence and several research universities with talented students. It has a history of tech research and development, too.
And although the state is often overlooked in terms of innovation on a national scale, there's a lot of work being done to change that.
While there are a slew of sectors that are poised to grow in New Mexico, Albuquerque Business First thinks that these three trends — surrounding all things tech, innovation and startups — are ones to look out for in the Land of Enchantment in 2023.
In New Mexico, space is (still) the place
There's a lot of energy surrounding aerospace work, both public and private, across the country. But that energy seems more palpable in New Mexico.
Eight experts working for different aerospace companies and organizations across New Mexico recently shared their thoughts on the sector with Business First. One key takeaway from those experts: The aerospace sector in New Mexico is "robust and growing," as Maureen Gannon, co-founder and chief revenue officer of Albuquerque's X-Bow Systems Inc., put it.
Spaceport America has planned upgrades to help attract more private aerospace companies. Virgin Galactic, the port's largest tenant, this year also announced plans to build an astronaut campus near the Spaceport and could resume flight testing in New Mexico in early 2023.
NewSpace New Mexico, an Albuquerque-based nonprofit, launched an accelerator program in October with 17 companies from around the country — and one from Israel. Q Station, a partnership between the New Mexico Trade Alliance and the Air Force Research Laboratory, recently opened a tech-focused accelerator program of its own.
Several New Mexico companies also contributed to NASA's Artemis I mission. Not to mention the number of large contracts that New Mexico companies have landed in 2022. And Northrup Grumman chose a mixed-use development slated to be built in Albuquerque to house its new 25,000-square-foot facility.
With ongoing accelerator programs, planned infrastructure investment and increased potential for more contracts as the nationwide space economy grows, New Mexico could be poised to see these 2022 trends blast into 2023.
A new hydrogen economy starts to emerge
New Mexico is part of a coalition of four states bidding for upwards of $1 billion for a Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub, or WISHH. The hub proposal, if accepted, could provide money for five hydrogen projects in the state. And this week, the coalition got news that its proposal made the next round of consideration for the federal money.
While WISHH is the most notable of statewide efforts to push development of new hydrogen projects, there are some private companies in New Mexico doing their own hydrogen-focused work. One of those is BayoTech Inc., an Albuquerque company that plans to build a network of small hydrogen hubs across the U.S. In December, it confirmed both its partner and the exact location outside of St. Louis, Missouri, for its first hub.
Universal Hydrogen, a California-based company that makes capsules to use hydrogen energy to power aircraft, also announced plans to bring production and jobs to Albuquerque with a facility near the Albuquerque International Sunport. Previous Business First reporting shows the company "has agreements with 11 air carriers to retrofit nearly 100 regional airplanes" and could hire around 500 employees over the next seven years.
And another Albuquerque-based company, Pajarito Powder, plans to open a bigger headquarters in the coming year, with room for more employees and production. The startup, which has been one of New Mexico's fastest growing over the past couple years, manufactures catalyzers that make fuel cells — which can be powered by hydrogen — run more efficiently.
Whether or not the regional hydrogen hub proposal is accepted or not, the private investment into hydrogen in New Mexico could lead to a big 2023 for the sector in the state. The "father of the modern fuel cell" seems to agree.
Health care and biosciences pull in more money
Electronic Caregiver, a Las Cruces-based telehealth company, landed New Mexico's largest funding round in 2022. BioFlyte and Build With Robots — two Albuquerque-based startups that help detect and clean harmful particles from the air — both found themselves in the top six funding rounds of the year, as well.
While New Mexico may not be considered as big of a hub for health care and bioscience innovation as Boston or the Twin Cities, for instance, it's clear that investors want to put money into startups in the Land of Enchantment that are working in those areas.
And RS21, another Albuquerque company, spoke at the White House in November as part of a presentation on health equity. Its Health Lab uses data and analytics to improve health care outcomes and was tapped by the White House because of its work with Texas-based Wellness Equity Alliance for work the two organizations did in communities around the U.S.-Mexico border.
But it's not just innovation going on among tech companies. Lovelace Medical Center, one of the state's largest hospitals in terms of number of licensed beds, has implemented a new virtual nursing technology that could help the state deal with its nursing shortage.
If funding trends in 2022 continue, innovative technologies in health care and biosciences could see a lot more money put behind them in 2023.
