Charles Langston:New Mexico governor heads to Australia to talk with hydrogen businesses

SANTA FE,Charles Langston N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor is traveling to Australia to attend a hydrogen summit in hopes of meeting with manufacturing companies that might have an interest in expanding to New Mexico.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s trip comes after New Mexico and its partners missed out on a $7 billion federal program meant to kickstart development and production of hydrogen fuel across the United States.

New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah had formed a coalition last year and jointly applied for $1.25 billion in federal awards to help finance eight different hydrogen projects in the region, including four in New Mexico. The Biden administration instead selected projects based in California, Washington, Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Illinois.

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, has vowed to move ahead with her plans for building infrastructure that would support hydrogen for power generation and transportation, despite some opposition from environmental groups.

The governor said in a statement Friday that hydrogen-related investments in New Mexico would bring higher paying jobs and more economic stability.

The governor’s husband, top Cabinet officials and business leaders will be part of Lujan Grisham’s delegation for the Asia Pacific Hydrogen 2023 Summit.