{"id":204475,"date":"2025-09-06T08:05:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T08:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/204475\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T08:05:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T08:05:18","slug":"new-mexico-is-building-a-quantum-computing-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/204475\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico Is Building A Quantum Computing Hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this week\u2019s edition of The Prototype, we look at New Mexico\u2019s plans to build a quantum computing ecosystem, a startup that can take methane and turn it into clean fuel for cheap, shocking your immune system for faster healing and more. To get The Prototype in your inbox, sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham<\/p>\n

CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images<\/p>\n

New Mexico<\/strong> is teaming up<\/a> with the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to invest in quantum computing. Under the terms of the agreement, each will provide up to $60 million over the next four years to build quantum computers that can solve problems that are out of reach for conventional processors. While that\u2019s tiny compared to the mountains of cash going into AI, it\u2019s big for the emerging technology, which saw less than $2 billion in government support globally last year.<\/p>\n

This is part of a larger effort to turn the state into a quantum computing hub. Last month, New Mexico and Roadrunner Venture Studios started a $25 million venture studio to build infrastructure\u2013such as a quantum network, lab testbeds and prototype facility\u2013to attract quantum startups to a campus being built in Albuquerque. New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told me the state is throwing its weight behind quantum computing because of its promise to revolutionize sectors such as renewable energy and healthcare. She also noted that the presence of two federal national labs gives New Mexico \u201cmore PhDs per capita than any other state,\u201d providing a strong talent pool for the nascent sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to require a lot of scientific effort,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we\u2019re willing to create that business ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Startup Makes Clean Fuel With Repurposed Car Engines<\/strong><\/p>\n

Methanol fuels a wide range of vehicles<\/strong>, from race cars to large ships. It\u2019s attractive because it produces no soot or other particulates and emits far less carbon dioxide than gasoline. But the conventional way to make it is anything but clean\u2013producing significant carbon emissions and other pollutants.<\/p>\n

Emmanuel Kasseris aims to fix this. His company, Emvolon, repurposes diesel engines to break down methane\u2013a potent greenhouse gas\u2013 into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are then turned into methanol. The entire process takes place in a modular facility that can fit inside a shipping container and costs less than $10 million to build.<\/p>\n

That small footprint means that Emvolon can scale quickly, Kasseris told me, by siting its machines near landfills, industrial sites, farms or other places that emit large amounts of methane. The company\u2019s Woburn, MA headquarters is home to a pilot plant that produces 6 barrels of methanol a day.<\/p>\n

This week, Emvolon announced<\/a> a collaboration with commodities merchant Freepoint to accelerate the production and distribution of methanol. That follows the launch of a joint venture<\/a> between the startup and energy company Montauk Renewables in August to develop multiple manufacturing sites, starting with a project in Texas.<\/p>\n

Emvolon\u2019s ability to turn waste into a sellable commodity offers what Kasseris called \u201cpragmatic sustainability,\u201d which is valuable in an era where there\u2019s less government support for green technology. \u201cThe future shouldn\u2019t start with a pie in the sky vision of doing everything green,\u201d he said. \u201cBut something that can be done locally, with local resources, that makes profits.\u201d<\/p>\n

DISCOVERY OF THE WEEK: ELECTRICITY MIGHT SPEED HEALING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have found a potential new way to heal wounds faster: electricity. In a new paper<\/a> published this week, the scientists describe the effects of electrical stimulation on macrophage, a type of white blood cell that works with the immune system. In a wound made on tissues in the lab, they found that stimulating macrophages led to faster healing with less inflammation. The next step, the authors wrote, is to validate these results in animals.<\/p>\n

WHAT ELSE I WROTE THIS WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my other newsletter, InnovationRx, Amy Feldman and I looked at<\/a> leadership departures and vaccine policy changes at the CDC, why pharma company Alnylam is moving forward on a drug despite disappointing clinical trial results, a startup using AI to predict heart failure risk and more.<\/p>\n

SCIENCE AND TECH TIDBITS <\/strong><\/p>\n

Space startup Interlune<\/strong> is developing tech to mine the Moon<\/a> for Helium-3, a rare isotope that\u2019s used for security scanners, medical imaging and quantum computers.<\/p>\n

Alphabet subsidiary Waymo<\/strong> already has a huge lead in the self-driving car market. But if it pushed even harder<\/a>, its revenues could rival its sister company Google\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper<\/strong>, a rival to SpaceX\u2019s satellite internet service Starlink, published a video<\/a> showing its 100+ satellite network has gigabit speeds, about 3-4x faster than Starlink.<\/p>\n

The Trump Administration\u2019s freeze <\/strong>on $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled this week<\/a>. Most of that money is allocated to research.<\/p>\n

PRO SCIENCE TIP: GOT BACK PAIN? GO FOR A WALK<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plagued by lower back pain? The best thing for you might be to go for a walk, according to a new paper<\/a>. Over the course of two years, researchers followed a group of more than 11,000 adults. They found that those who walked over 100 minutes a day (measured with a wearable) had a 23% lower risk of chronic lower back pain. The study also found that the time spent walking mattered more for reducing pain than how quickly people walked.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S ENTERTAINING ME THIS WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

I just finished watching the first season of Netflix\u2019s series Dept. Q<\/a>, a procedural about an investigation into the disappearance of a prosecutor. The case has a number of effectively executed twists and turns that I won\u2019t spoil here, but where the show really shines is the character work among an incredibly talented group of actors, especially Matthew Goode in the lead role of Carl Morck and Alexej Manvelov as his sidekick, the polite and utterly terrifying badass Akram Salim.<\/p>\n

MORE FROM FORBES <\/strong>ForbesThis Billionaire\u2019s AI Was Supposed To Speed Up Policing. It\u2019s Not Going Well.By Thomas Brewster<\/a>ForbesThis Thai Coconut Water Won Over China. The U.S. Could Be NextBy Zinnia Lee<\/a>ForbesThis Singapore Gaming Billionaire Is Betting AI Will Upend The Entire IndustryBy John Kang<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this week\u2019s edition of The Prototype, we look at New Mexico\u2019s plans to build a quantum computing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":204476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[691,745,112773,112775,935,112774,11198,918,91192,112776,158,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-204475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-computing","10":"tag-emvolon","11":"tag-green-fuel","12":"tag-methane","13":"tag-methanol","14":"tag-new-mexico","15":"tag-quantum-computing","16":"tag-supercomputing","17":"tag-sustainabilitiy","18":"tag-technology","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115156321756519326","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}