This special section marks the launch of the annual Startups to Watch list, a collection of startups New Mexico Inno will keep an eye on in the next 12 months.
The list of 10 honorees includes businesses in various sectors — sustainable energy, health care and mobile communications, to name a few. Our Startups to Watch are trying to use data to identify the “social determinants of health” and deploy space-mining technology.
Like New Mexico’s broader startup ecosystem, one industry or vertical isn’t responsible for the majority of the startups we are watching. Generally, each company has raised funding and is in the process of developing or commercializing technology.
Startups to Watch honorees were selected by New Mexico Inno reporter Collin Krabbe, who, when considering each honoree, looked at how the businesses performed in 2021, as well as what they have planned in 2022.
In the coming days, you will have a chance to read about each startup online and see the work they are doing to grow their businesses in New Mexico and beyond. All 10 companies were also highlighted in the Feb. 4 print edition of Albuquerque Business First.
Next up, Pajarito Powder.
Pajarito Powder
In the race to transition more and more electricity generation to renewable sources, a problem looms.But there’s a potential solution, and it comes from an Albuquerque manufacturer founded in 2012.
Pajarito Powder has spent years developing a high-performance, cost-effective catalyst material for fuel cells, which are essentially containers for hydrogen or other fuels.
In terms of the automotive market, fuel cells can produce clean electricity that can power a vehicle. When it comes to renewable energy, fuel cells could use wind or solar power to convert water into hydrogen and store it for future use.
But at scale, fuel cells for automotive uses require a significant quantity of platinum. And electrolyzers used in the process of converting water into hydrogen use a combination of precious metals, including Iridium. These precious metals act as a catalyst to trigger a chemical reaction, which in turn creates the energy used to power a vehicle.
Procuring, mining and processing platinum adds up, and as such, the precious metal can represent between 30% and 50% of the cost of a fuel cell. Iridium, meanwhile, can be as much as four times the cost of platinum.
That’s where Pajarito Powder can help. Through technology developed at and licensed from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of New Mexico and the Institut national de la recherche scientifique in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Parajito Powder uses a proprietary production process that creates catalyst materials for electrolysis — the method of converting water to hydrogen — and for automotive fuel cells.
Co-founder Thomas Stephenson pointed to several trends in the automotive market that offer a glimpse into Parajito’s opportunities in 2022.
Last year, Daimler shareholders approved a split of the company which created separate divisions for making long-haul trucks and luxury cars. The split will allow each division the freedom to explore zero-emission technology suited for its respective market.
Stephenson said Pajarito Powder can’t share names of its customers, but said the company’s catalysts have drawn interest from those creating “heavy-duty fuel-cell applications” for vehicles such as trucks and trains. In those applications, the catalyst “plays a crucial role” in terms of the fuel-cell stack’s performance and longevity, he said.
“In general, the longer the distances and the heavier the loads, the better the application is suited for fuel cells,” Stephenson said. “This means that trucks, and eventually trains and ships and even aircraft, will be well-suited for fuel-cell solutions.”
Meanwhile, South Korean automaker Hyundai announced last year its goal of transitioning all of its commercial vehicles to either an electric battery or to fuel cells by 2028. Hyundai contributed to Pajarito’s Series B investment round in June 2021, when the startup disclosed $9.4 million in funding to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Like so many companies, Parajito Powder experienced a bit of a downturn at the outset of the pandemic, Stephenson told Business First. But global momentum around renewable energy efforts — specifically hydrogen — propelled the company forward.
With limited marketing, Parajito Powder in 2021 doubled its commercial sales for the second straight year.
“We had our best year from a commercial sales standpoint … even in the midst of the pandemic,” Stephenson said.
Given technological demands, there’s no reason to think that kind of success can’t continue in 2022.
To position itself for the long term, the company named for the Pajarito Mesa — home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory — has plans for a new facility.
Stephenson wasn’t ready to share the details just yet, but said the location will be in Albuquerque and offer more space than the company’s current 6,000-square-foot headquarters at 3600 Osuna Road NE.
More space means the ability to manufacture greater quantities of its catalyst materials, invest in new manufacturing equipment and increase its workforce.
