VastVision Awarded New Mexico Advance Energy Grant for Battery-Free IoT Innovation

Albuquerque, NM — VastVision, a deep technology company pioneering battery-free sensing solutions, has been awarded the FY25 Advance Energy Award by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. This competitive grant recognizes VastVision's breakthrough work in energy sector IoT applications and supports the company's mission to build the digital nervous system for the physical world.

Breaking Free from Battery Constraints

The energy sector faces a fundamental challenge: how do you monitor millions of endpoints across vast infrastructure when replacing batteries is logistically impossible and economically prohibitive? VastVision's answer lies in magnetoelastic sensing technology — a revolutionary approach that eliminates batteries entirely while delivering decades of maintenance-free operation.

"Traditional IoT deployments in energy infrastructure hit a wall when you scale to thousands or millions of sensors," explains Kyle Guin, CEO of VastVision. "Battery replacement becomes the dominant cost driver. Our technology flips that model — zero power consumption means zero maintenance for the sensor's entire operational life."

Technology Born from National Lab Research

VastVision's core sensing platform is built on four U.S. patents licensed exclusively from Sandia National Laboratories through New Mexico's Technology Readiness Gross Receipts (TRGR) program. This state-funded initiative pairs Sandia scientists directly with New Mexico businesses, providing $150,000 in hands-on technical assistance through biweekly collaboration sessions.

The result: world-class national lab researchers debugging hardware, validating designs, and accelerating technology maturation — all funded by the state to strengthen New Mexico's innovation economy.

Smart Grid Sensing at Scale

The Advance Energy Award specifically targets VastVision's work on smart grid monitoring applications, where battery-free sensors can transform how utilities manage aging infrastructure:

Substation monitoring: Real-time condition assessment of transformers, switchgear, and high-voltage equipment without wiring or battery logistics.

Distribution automation: Passive sensors embedded throughout the grid wake up only when interrogated, enabling massive-scale deployments without power infrastructure.

Renewable integration: Monitor solar farms, wind turbines, and energy storage systems with sensors that outlast the equipment they're tracking.

Why Energy Sector Validation Matters

State grants like New Mexico's Advance Energy Award do more than provide funding — they signal market validation to larger customers and investors. VastVision's technology is already deployed with Jump Trading for ultra-low-latency asset tracking, and the company has submitted proposals to ENEL Group for grid-scale sensing deployments.

The New Mexico EDD grant positions VastVision at the intersection of three high-growth markets:

1. Utility modernization — Aging grid infrastructure needs intelligent monitoring
2. Clean energy transition — Renewable deployments require real-time visibility
3. Critical infrastructure security — Passive sensors can't be remotely compromised when dormant

The LANL LEEP Connection

VastVision CEO Kyle Guin was appointed as a Los Alamos National Laboratory LEEP (Laboratory Entrepreneurship & Economic Partnership) Fellow in January 2025. This prestigious program provides entrepreneurs with direct access to LANL facilities, researchers, and equipment — accelerating the path from lab innovation to commercial deployment.

The combination of LANL LEEP (DOE validation), TRGR (Sandia technical collaboration), and the Advance Energy Award (state economic development support) creates a unique ecosystem advantage for deep tech companies based in New Mexico.

Milestone Reporting and Commercialization Roadmap

VastVision's most recent milestone report to New Mexico EDD (filed February 4, 2026) demonstrates progress on several fronts:

- Technology maturation: Advanced from lab prototypes to field-deployable systems
- Customer validation: Active deployments in financial services, pending proposals in energy sector
- Manufacturing readiness: Transition from one-off fabrication to scalable production processes
- Intellectual property: Four foundational patents with additional filings in progress

The grant funds are being deployed toward:

- Field trials with utility partners
- Environmental testing for harsh grid environments (extreme temperature, humidity, electromagnetic interference)
- Integration development for SCADA systems and utility communication protocols
- Go-to-market strategy for energy sector sales channels

What's Next

VastVision is actively seeking pilot deployment partners in the utility and energy infrastructure sectors. Ideal candidates are organizations facing:

- Large-scale monitoring needs (thousands to millions of endpoints)
- Harsh or inaccessible environments where battery maintenance is impractical
- Long operational lifetimes (decades) where battery replacement costs become prohibitive
- Security requirements where always-on, wirelessly-powered devices pose unacceptable risk

The company is also pursuing SBIR/STTR opportunities with the Department of Energy and Department of Defense for applications ranging from nuclear material tracking to defense supply chain visibility.

About VastVision

VastVision is a New Mexico-based deep technology company building battery-free sensing solutions for extreme environments and high-value applications. The company holds exclusive licenses to four U.S. patents on magnetoelastic sensor technology from Sandia National Laboratories and is supported by the TRGR program, LANL LEEP Fellowship, and New Mexico Economic Development Department.

Technology: Magnetoelastic sensors, UWB positioning, passive wakeup circuits, custom MEMS
Markets: Energy infrastructure, defense & national security, critical infrastructure
Team: 7 people with 39+ years combined Sandia experience
Status: Active commercial deployments, pending multi-million dollar proposals

Learn more: vastvision.io
Contact: kyle@vastvision.io

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The New Mexico Advance Energy Award is administered by the Economic Development Department's Energy Transition & Development Division and supports companies commercializing energy technologies that strengthen New Mexico's clean energy economy.