New Mexico governor to lead delegation to Holland for business summit

SANTA FE, New Mexico: Late last week, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced plans to attract new investments in hydrogen fuel development when she visits a business summit in Holland.

She will lead a delegation to an industry summit exhibition in the port city of Rotterdam to seek the "opportunity to sell New Mexico as a dynamic and thriving place for hydrogen industry investment," Democrat Lujan Grisham said in a news release.

A vocal proponent of investments in hydrogen as a transition fuel that can replace fossil fuels, she led a similar mission to Australia in 2023 to meet hydrogen entrepreneurs.

Hydrogen is considered a cleaner-burning energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity, but some environmentalists call it a false solution because it frequently relies on natural gas as a fuel source.

Citing concerns that it would prolong natural gas development and increase demand for water supplies, several New Mexico-based environmental groups have opposed proposed state incentives for hydrogen development.

However, hydrogen also can be produced by splitting water molecules using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, a process known as electrolysis, as well as by nuclear power.

With extensive natural gas reserves and recent investments in the electrical grid aimed at expanding renewable energy production from sources such as wind and solar, New Mexico is a major energy-producing state.

In 2023, the Biden administration passed over a four-state bid by New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming for a share of US$7 billion aimed at boosting the development and production of hydrogen fuel.

The New Mexico delegation at the hydrogen summit in Rotterdam will also include Rob Black, president of a statewide chamber of commerce.