ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Pacific Fusion has started construction on its $1 billion research and manufacturing campus in Albuquerque, moving forward on a project that could help shape New Mexico’s advanced-energy industry and create new career pathways for students and workers across the region, including Cibola County.
The groundbreaking was Tuesday, Aug. 25, on its Mesa del Sol campus in Albuquerque, marking a major step for a company working to prove that practical fusion power can become a real part of the country’s energy future.
Earlier this year, Pacific Fusion came to New Mexico State University Grants for a recruiting and information session with local students and community members. The May 6 event gave NMSUGrants students a direct look at the kind of jobs and training pathways the company says will be needed as it grows in Albuquerque and Los Lunas.
Now, just a few months later, the company is moving dirt.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the groundbreaking Monday, saying the project shows New Mexico is positioning itself for the next generation of energy and manufacturing jobs.
“Less than a year ago, we announced that Pacific Fusion had selected New Mexico for this extraordinary investment, and today, construction begins,” Lujan Grisham said. “Pacific Fusion’s decision to build here demonstrates that New Mexico leads the nation in creating the industries of the future.”
Pacific Fusion’s new campus will be about 225,000 square feet and will house the company’s first fusion research facility in New Mexico. The company is working toward a system that could generate more energy than it consumes by 2030.
State and company officials were careful to note the Albuquerque facility will not operate as a power plant. Instead, it will be a research and manufacturing campus meant to prove a key milestone known as “net facility gain.” According to organizers of the NMSU event, this means producing more fusion energy than the total stored energy put into the machine.
That has never been done at this type of facility, and Pacific Fusion says proving it would be a major step toward commercial fusion power.
The project is expected to create more than 200 permanent jobs, along with hundreds of construction and regional supply-chain jobs. Pacific Fusion has also opened a facility in Los Lunas, where the company says it has already hired more than 70 people and is manufacturing components for its fusion system.
When Pacific Fusion visited NMSU-Grants in May, company representatives talked about the region’s location between Albuquerque and Los Lunas and the need to build a workforce beyond the state’s largest cities. The room was full of students from different backgrounds, not just students studying engineering. Some asked technical questions about how fusion works. Others were there to learn what kind of future jobs might exist and what it would take to qualify for them.
The message from Pacific Fusion that day was simple: people do not need to already be fusion scientists to have a place in the industry.
Company representatives talked about handson technician roles, especially for people with mechanical or electrical skills, attention to detail, a safety mindset and a willingness to learn. They said experience in construction, automotive work, aerospace, laboratory settings or other technical fields could help prepare workers for future opportunities.
Matt Pahl, Pacific Fusion’s New Mexico external affairs lead, said at the time that Grants and surrounding communities should be part of the state’s advanced-energy future.
“Grants and surrounding communities have access to two of New Mexico’s major innovation hubs – Albuquerque and Los Lunas – and it’s important that communities like this are part of the state’s advanced energy future,” Pahl said. “This event is about opening doors – connecting students and community members to the emerging fusion industry, sharing what we’re building, and making sure people can see themselves in the opportunities being created right here in New Mexico.”
For many students in Cibola County, the hardest part of imagining a future in a new industry is simply seeing the doorway. Pacific Fusion’s visit to Grants gave students a chance to ask questions, see the company’s technology and hear directly from people involved in building the project.
Monday’s groundbreaking showed that the opportunity discussed in that classroom is no longer just theoretical.
“New Mexico is where Pacific Fusion will build the system designed to prove that practical fusion power is possible,” said Keith LeChien, cofounder and chief technology officer of Pacific Fusion. “The state brings together scientific and engineering talent, a deep legacy in pulsed-power research and leaders who understand the urgency of building.”
Pacific Fusion was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, but its New Mexico operations are becoming central to the company’s plans. The Albuquerque campus will house its Demonstration System, while the Los Lunas operation will manufacture modular pulsedpower components.
The company’s technology builds on decades of research at national laboratories, including Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Fusion is the process that powers the sun. Instead of splitting atoms, as in nuclear fission, fusion combines light atoms to release energy. Supporters say fusion could one day provide abundant carbonfree electricity that is not dependent on weather conditions. State officials also said fusion does not carry the risk of meltdown or long-lived radioactive waste.
Pacific Fusion’s project also has a national security component. The company announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration to identify possible collaboration on high-yield fusion, high-energy-density science, pulsed-power technologies, advanced materials, modeling and simulation.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said the project strengthens New Mexico’s position in energy innovation.
“Pacific Fusion’s $1 billion investment in New Mexico is a testament to the strength of our state’s workforce and national labs,” Heinrich said. “This high-yield, high-gain fusion facility will advance our understanding of what it will take to bring fusion power to the grid, while supporting Albuquerque’s economy, creating 200 permanent jobs, and cementing New Mexico’s leadership in energy innovation.”
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján said the project reflects the kind of return that should come from investment in American innovation.
“This is what investment in American innovation should produce: cutting-edge industries, high-quality jobs in New Mexico, and broader impact through clean energy for the world,” Luján said. “To make that possible, we need continued federal engagement and funding to get fusion commercially deployed on the grid.”
For Cibola County, the next question is how close those jobs and training opportunities can get to local students and workers.
NMSU-Grants leaders have already welcomed Pacific Fusion’s outreach. During the May event, Marlene Chavez-Toivanen, NMSU-Grants chief executive and academic officer, said the partnership gives students and community members a direct pathway into an important emerging industry.
State Sen. Angel Charley also previously said Pacific Fusion’s presence in Los Lunas made it important to include Grants and surrounding pueblos, noting the region’s location between Albuquerque and Los Lunas.
That local connection will be worth watching as construction continues in Albuquerque and manufacturing grows in Los Lunas.
Pacific Fusion’s next major technical milestone is the demonstration of a full-scale pulser module, which the company describes as the core building block for its fusion system. In the meantime, the company says it will continue scaling production and expanding its manufacturing footprint in New Mexico.