New Mexico is a state with a truly global footprint. Its strategic location in the southwest, with easy access to three interstate highways, two rail networks and international ports and borders has attracted companies from around the world to choose New Mexico to solve their global supply chain, manufacturing and tech development needs.
New Mexico has a lower cost of doing business for many industries. A lack of intense competition, a lower than average cost of living and a high quality of life have all kept compensation costs in New Mexico below the national average. The state boasts low energy costs with unique opportunities for companies to take advantage of New Mexico’s high potential for renewable energy to power their facilities sustainably. New Mexico has also focused on proactively maintaining a business-friendly environment with some of the strongest incentive programs in the United States, like the state’s flagship program, the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP). New Mexico has the partnerships and incentives companies need to grow, prosper and succeed in today’s evolving and dynamic business climate.
In the past 18 months alone, the state saw advanced manufacturing project announcements that included a $1 billion investment from Maxeon Solar Technologies, a Singapore-based large-scale photovoltaic cell and panel manufacturer; a $942 million investment from Ebon Solar, a Delaware-based U.S. solar cell manufacturing company; a $100 million investment from Star Scientific, an Australia-based green hydrogen manufacturer; and a $99 million investment from Hota, a Taiwan-based automotive gear manufacturer.
Ensuring a Talent Pipeline for the Future
Photo provided by Star Scientific
New Mexico has more than 200,000 people employed in manufacturing, production, logistics and construction roles and more than 36,000 employed in math, science and engineering occupations. With employment concentrations 1.7 times higher in sciences and 1.5 times higher in engineering that the U.S. average, these concentrations of both technical and skilled trade talent reflect the state’s ongoing investment to support the talent pipeline.
One of these investments is tuition-free college for eligible New Mexico residents, thanks to a nearly $1 billion trust fund and scholarship program that New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law in early 2024. This program can be applied to two-year, four-year, part-time and full-time degree seekers. In addition to offering tuition-free college, the state established the Early Childhood Trust Fund in 2020 creating free early childhood daycare and programs for most residents. These two funds make New Mexico the first state in the country to establish trust funds for both early childhood and higher education, with a total $32.4 billion invested in cradle-to-career education.
While these investments in education and workforce training have established a steady talent pipeline for key industries, they aren’t the only initiatives in which New Mexico is investing. The state continues to introduce new business-friendly policies and incentives that support new and established businesses of all sizes, such as the brand-new Advanced Energy Equipment Income Tax credit signed into law by Governor Grisham. The credit is equal to 20 percent of qualified equipment costs up to a maximum $25 million per project and capped at $25 million per year for projects that qualify under the IRA’s 45X provision. Investments like this are enhancing the business-friendly climate New Mexico has continued to cultivate for a wide range of manufacturers.
Research and Technology Lead Development in New Mexico
New Mexico’s centralized location provides ideal infrastructure for the state’s three national labs, four military installations and four aerospace test facilities with access to restricted airspace, which have consistently produced extensive private and public sector investment and innovation. These research and development assets are supported by the state’s three major research universities, four comprehensive four-year institutions, independent community colleges, three cooperative education sites and many specialized learning facilities, totaling 50 locations statewide.
All of these assets have made New Mexico a thriving hub of innovation for decades. The state provides virtually unmatched opportunity for business and industry to collaborate with world-class scientific and research institutions. This consistent collaboration between the public and private sector has been a key factor driving growth for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) innovation across the state. This is especially apparent in the state’s diverse bioscience industry.
Since research and development institutions like Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Labs both operate bioscience research divisions that work on a range of subfields, from infectious disease research to the development of biofuels, they both regularly collaborate with higher education institutions like the University of New Mexico, a Carnegie-Designated R1 Research University; New Mexico State University; and New Mexico Tech, which spend a combined total of more than $6 billion on R&D while also training a large pool of highly competitive STEM graduates.
The state’s exceptional research and educational institutions have also continued to support a diverse IT ecosystem encompassing everything from major software development companies to data centers, cutting-edge start-ups and everything in between. This ecosystem has been the driving force behind an initiative that is set to transform New Mexico into a leader in the quantum information technology (QIT) sector.
In July 2024, the Elevate Quantum Tech Hub, a coalition representing New Mexico and Colorado, was awarded $41 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to establish New Mexico as one of only twelve Tech Hubs across the United States. The new Tech Hub designation will help advance the QIT sector across the region by focusing on commercial-ready applications in sensing, computing, networking and enabling hardware. It will also help to expedite lab-to-market translation by establishing globally unique quantum labs and fabrication facilities, reducing the time and cost of commercializing quantum innovation; lowering barriers to quantum entrepreneurship; and building a workforce ready to meet the needs of this growing sector.
Additionally, the University of New Mexico recently partnered with Sandia National Laboratories to create the Quantum New Mexico Institute, a joint research entity that supports the Quantum Information Science field and advances the local and regional quantum ecosystem. Central New Mexico Community College, with the state’s largest undergraduate enrollment, also launched a quantum science lab and training program of its own which recently broke ground on a state-of-the-art skilled trades facility.
Providing the Foundation for Success in New Mexico
New Mexico offers the partnerships, talent and state and local support needed for companies to be successful. The state provides a coordinated approach and a formal network of leaders and economic developers to simplify the site selection process for companies interested in locating in New Mexico. The New Mexico Partnership is designated by the state to be the single point of contact to help businesses through the location process in New Mexico. To learn more and get started on project needs in New Mexico, visit www.nmpartnership.com. T&ID
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