DOE: NM labs are a 'model' for public-private partnerships

New Mexico’s economy is heavily reliant on a few key sectors, including the federal government — due in large part to the national laboratories in the state.

While state officials continue seeking ways to diversify New Mexico's economy, federal and lab officials are also working to ensure the state sees independent economic growth.

How? By helping grow startups and small businesses.

Marcos Gonzales Harsha is the principal deputy director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions. He said a lot of the labs’ science research missions are far from the public domain, like information around nuclear weapons. However, he said, with recent federal support and legislation — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act — the labs can step into a more public light to help, especially in the business industry.

With the numerous financial incentives New Mexico offers its small businesses, companies can partner with the labs to use advanced equipment and experts to validate their work, Gonzales Harsha said.

For example, he said, companies trying to contribute to a larger hydrogen hub of the future or startups building out geothermal technology need testing and validation with high-performance assets that a small business just can’t afford, but the labs can provide.

“Being able to leverage the lab assets, it's tremendous value,” he said.

He added that the partnerships help not only serve the broader public but help the smaller companies secure other funding or customers.

“It's a technical merit award, almost. ‘This has been tested by DOE people and through DOE assets, and it worked,’” he said.

Gonzales Harsha said there are results to back up these programs, which is shown through DOE’s liftoff reports.

“It's just representative of the thinking that is now more pervasive at the Department of Energy — ergo, also through the national lab system — which is around not just the core mission of basic science and weapons research … but also this promotion and support of a thriving business sector,” he said.

He said that’s especially true of startups, which “could be truly disruptive and therefore are more willing to take risks, sometimes on the transformational technology.” He said great technologies die all the time because companies run out of money.

“That's where, again, if you can use it for free or at a reduced cost, not procure it yourself, but just make use of a lab facility, it just makes tons of sense,” Gonzales Harsha said.

He said investing in startups is a good value for money investment considering job growth, and the labs are very much interwoven in incubator and accelerator communities.

He said it’s about “small, scrappy folks trying to make their way.”

“And they do need help,” he added.

Mary Monson is the senior manager of technology partnerships and business development at Sandia National Laboratories. She also brought up DOE’s Boost program, which pairs local entrepreneurs with technologies that can address energy challenges. She said two companies formed in New Mexico from this — Clean Aqua Solutions and GridFlow.

Clean Aqua Solutions is a Santa Fe company that licensed an algal technology from Sandia, she said, and is working with the city’s community college to test water at a treatment facility.

GridFlow is a battery startup using a slew of state programs or opportunities to obtain funding, like the New Mexico Advanced Energy Award pilot program and Technology Readiness gross receipts initiative, she said.

“This is just an example of how the federal government, the labs, the state, all come together to support startups in New Mexico and economic growth in New Mexico,” Monson said.

She said there’s a whole ecosystem of support for these projects in New Mexico.

“I think we’re fortunate that we’re so connected in New Mexico that we can make these things happen,” Monson said.

Gonzales Harsha said when other states ask for examples on how to harness national labs, he points to New Mexico. The state incentivizes collaboration through initiatives like the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program, Gonzales Harsha said.

“I see it as a model,” he said.

Monson said Sandia is leading in the nation for a lot of projects, and both labs in New Mexico take full advantage of programs that help grow startups or expand small businesses in the state.

“We are a national lab. We care about the national economy,” she said. “But we live and work here in New Mexico, so we have a lot of heart and focus on New Mexico.”