New Mexico hydrogen material startup draws in Hyundai investment

Pajarito Powder, an Albuquerque-based company that makes catalysts for green hydrogen production, on Monday announced a new investment from Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. that will enable its continued work in the energy sector.

The funding shows maintained interest on an international level for hydrogen, despite less momentum around it this year in the U.S., according to Tom Stephenson, Pajarito Powder board chair.

“There’s been a little bit of a slowdown from where we were a year ago, but it’s still moving, very much still moving, particularly in Europe, particularly in Korea, particularly in Japan,” he told the Journal Monday.

Stephenson said the funding from Hyundai, the amount of which he declined to disclose, will allow Pajarito to keep building out its manufacturing capability and make improvements to processes. The company last year expanded to a larger facility in Albuquerque to keep up with demand.

Things have slowed slightly since then, with uncertainty around what the hydrogen market looks like in the U.S. under President Donald Trump — an adamant oil and gas supporter. However, Stephenson said many oil and gas companies are investing in hydrogen.

“There are a variety of ways that you can create hydrogen, and a variety of needs for hydrogen that are beyond just the transportation applications that tend to be what folks focus in on. ... Hydrogen gets used for a whole lot of other industrial applications, and so those opportunities are going to maintain and continue going forward,” he said.

He added that Pajarito has a global presence, with large customer bases in Europe and Asia. He pointed to Hyundai as an example of international stakeholder and said the company previously invested in Pajarito in 2021.

Pajarito last year also secured a $4.5 million equity investment from chemicals corporation Ecovyst and job training funds from the state.

“There continues to remain a lot of enthusiasm,” Stephenson said.