Demand for large orders is driving Albuquerque technology startup Pajarito Powder to make plans to move into a larger space to scale production, officials confirmed to Business First on Wednesday.
The expansion will be funded with investment from South Korean automaker Hyundai, which led the company's most recent funding round.
The location of the new facility was not disclosed, but Pajarito president and chief technology officer Barr Zulevi confirmed that the site would be about three times as large as its current 6,000-square-foot space, located at 3600 Osuna Road NE. The company will also invest in new manufacturing equipment.
Fuel cells in particular are gaining traction across car companies as alternatives to internal-combustion engines. Automotive and hydrogen production companies are its main market segments, CEO Tom Stephenson told Business First.
Using a proprietary production process and materials, Pajarito creates catalyst materials for fuel cells, which generate electricity and electrolyzers, which produce hydrogen. With the new facility, Pajarito will be able to fulfill multi-ton orders for catalyst materials — much more than what it can currently deliver.
Hyundai declined to disclose the amount of its investment in Pajarito, but previously confirmed that it contributed to Pajarito's Series B round in June, when the startup disclosed $9.4 million in funding to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Pajarito Powder was founded in 2012 and, in addition to Hyundai, has received investment in the past from the Verge Fund in Albuquerque and Omphalos Venture Partners in Minnesota. It also sourced intellectual property from the University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to a Pajarito presentation from 2016.
The company previously announced it doubled its commercial sales in 2020 compared to 2019, citing "increased interest" in hydrogen fuel cell products and "rapidly growing demand" for electrolyzer materials.
The primary markets for fuel cell catalysts were in Asia. North America had strong demand for electrolyzer catalysts, according to Pajarito Powder.
