State awards over $7 million to support advanced energy sector

Nine advanced energy companies in New Mexico received a share of $7.5 million in New Mexico Advanced Energy Award grants designed to accelerate technology advancement and deployment and attract companies to the state.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 7, 2026

State awards over $7 million to support advanced energy sector

SANTA FE — Nine advanced energy companies in New Mexico received a share of $7.5 million in New Mexico Advanced Energy Award grants designed to accelerate technology advancement and deployment and attract companies to the state.

The award, administered by Economic Development New Mexico’s (EDNM) Technology & Innovation Office (TIO), is in its third year and offers two classes of awards — Research and Development and Pilot Projects — to better support commercialization.

Five companies received Research and Development Awards, supporting foundational R&D, proof-of-concept work and product development that moves scientific advances toward market-ready solutions.

Four companies received Pilot Project Awards that support the transition of research into practical, deployable technology and enable early-stage companies to pilot advanced energy technologies in the state.

“New Mexico is building real momentum in technology and innovation with outstanding research partners, a welcoming business climate and state investments designed to help companies at every stage,” said EDNM Cabinet Secretary Rob Black. “These companies show just how dynamic our tech pipeline is — and how much opportunity lies ahead.”

Three of the nine awardees will establish a presence in New Mexico through this grant, and all grantees are required to maintain operations in the state for at least two years beyond the grant period.

“The Advanced Energy Award allows the state to support New Mexico-based companies as they advance their technologies and attract promising startups to deploy and grow in New Mexico,” said TIO Director Nora Meyers Sackett. “These awards help move the frontiers of energy technology forward and strengthen New Mexico’s position as a destination for advanced energy innovation.”

The 2026 New Mexico Advanced Energy Award grantees are:

Research and Development

GridFlow, Inc. ($490,000)

GridFlow delivers energy storage at the edge of the grid using vanadium flow batteries — a fire-proof technology built for 4+ hour discharge durations that helps utilities make fuller use of variable-generation assets like wind and solar. GridFlow is developing a new method of electrolyte manufacturing in New Mexico, with a long-term goal of sourcing vanadium mined in the Four Corners region. GridFlow was a previous AEA awardee in 2024 and will use this funding to build upon the work previously enabled by the state.

Halo Materials, Inc. ($1,000,000)

Halo Materials is onshoring production of high-purity graphite, a critical mineral for the battery, nuclear, and defense industries. Using domestic hydrocarbon feedstocks and proprietary technology, Halo produces premium-grade graphite at a fraction of the typical cost — closing the price gap with overseas producers who currently control nearly all of the global supply and securing a domestic source for the battery and nuclear industries.

Liberty Fusion Inc. ($625,000)

Liberty Fusion is developing a modular fusion energy system based on Plasma-Jet Driven Magneto-Inertial Fusion (PJMIF) technology pioneered at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Using modular plasma gun architecture, standard industrial materials, and rapid hardware iteration, the company aims to deliver a lower-cost path to commercial fusion. Its first system, a flexible high-energy-density plasma platform, will support fusion development, extreme environment testing, and long-duration clean power generation.

Molten Salt Solutions Inc. ($900,000)

Molten Salt Solutions is an isotope enrichment company producing enriched lithium for advanced energy applications. Building on Los Alamos National Laboratory technology, its proprietary dual flow counter-current chromatography and solvent extraction process is roughly 100 times more efficient than legacy methods. The company is now scaling industrial production of enriched lithium, a critical material for next-generation fusion and carbon-free energy systems.

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