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Representatives of advanced technology companies on Tuesday painted a futuristic vision for New Mexico鈥檚 economy to a panel of lawmakers gathered in Los Lunas.

They said New Mexico could host what could become two of humanity鈥檚 greatest scientific and technological achievements: The world鈥檚 first reliable fusion power plant and quantum computer.

Lawmakers in the past two legislative sessions have appropriated hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to help achieve Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham鈥檚 vision of New Mexico as a hub for technology, energy, space and defense sectors.

Rob Black, the governor鈥檚 economic development secretary, told lawmakers that New Mexico has the highest concentration of quantum scientists in the world. He faced questions from lawmakers who in 2026 doled out $380 million in new money to the state Economic Development Department to help New Mexico develop those sectors. 

Black justified the investment by saying that advanced industries like quantum computing and fusion energy offer high-paying, blue- and white-collar jobs.

鈥淣ew Mexico has a very unique workforce historically,鈥� Black said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the highest concentration of Ph.D.s in the country. But we also have folks who are very skilled with their hands. So we really try to lean into that dichotomy.鈥�

Pacific Fusion, a California-based company, achieving net facility gain at its $1 billion research and manufacturing campus in sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Mesa del Sol. Construction on that facility begins this month. 

Net facility gain 鈥� when a fusion power plant generates more energy than it uses 鈥� could unlock a source of carbon-free power that provides electricity around the clock. 

In Los Lunas, Pacific Fusion plans to start full production in 2028 from what it calls the world鈥檚 first fusion factory. There, employees will assemble modular components for fusion systems. About 57 employees currently work at Pacific Fusion鈥檚 Los Lunas Build Center, which opened last year. 

鈥淔usion energy has been the holy grail that scientists have been pursuing for over 70 years,鈥� Matt Pahl, external relations lead for Pacific Fusion, told state senators and representatives on the legislative Economic and Rural Development and Policy Committee. 鈥淭he reasons why are very clear. Just 8 pounds of fusion fuel can create enough power for 10,000 homes for an entire year.鈥� 

Pahl called on lawmakers to consider research and development and investment tax credits for startups in the near term. He said a carbon-free energy investment tax credit and funding for the first fusion power plant would help New Mexico remain competitive with other states.

In the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers added fusion power to the state鈥檚 advanced energy tax credit.

鈥淲e鈥檙e proud of building something that will have a lasting presence in New Mexico,鈥� Pahl said. 鈥淎nd this is only the beginning of what can happen in the state. We can be the hub of a new fusion economy.鈥�

鈥楾he best place to do this鈥� 

New Mexico has been a pioneer in quantum computing, which promises to solve complex problems much faster than digital computing, with research from the national labs.

Sandia National Laboratories Director Laura McGill in February predicted the lab will have developed quantum computing capabilities that are scalable to real-world problems within 10 years. 

New Mexico lawmakers this year passed a package of allocating more than $220 million to efforts to develop the industry in the state, with $13 million appropriated to the University of New Mexico and the rest to the state Economic Development Department. 

That includes $49.3 million for the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, a project of the U.S. Defense Department鈥檚 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is responsible for developing military technologies. 

, the world鈥檚 largest integrated quantum company, began construction on a research and development center in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 last year. 

鈥淔or my money, New Mexico is the best place to do this,鈥� Ryan McKenney, director of government relations for Quantinuum, told lawmakers. 鈥淭he reason is not the incentive packages. We chose it for four things no tax credit can match.鈥�

Those are: A Legislature open to new technological developments; the national labs; the universities and colleges; and the industry base of aerospace, defense and energy companies that will likely turn to quantum computing in the future. 

McKenney warned lawmakers that so-called 鈥淨-Day鈥� could happen by the end of the decade. That is when quantum computers can break most of the encryption codes that secure our digital data.

鈥淭hat is not a farce,鈥� he said, urging lawmakers to investigate how they can fortify the state鈥檚 critical infrastructure from attacks.

Doing so will not only secure data, but it would also be a 鈥渉uge signaling mechanism to the private sector鈥� that the state takes the industry seriously.

Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. You can reach him at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.