Technology
Pajarito Powder: The Green Hydrogen Company You Need to Know About This Month
Albuquerque startup scales catalyst production after securing state funding for automotive and transportation applications.
How we reported this
Pajarito Powder received a $250,000 LEDA grant to expand its green hydrogen catalyst manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, with plans to add 50 jobs focused on automotive and transportation fuel cells.
Expansion tied to state incentives
The grant supports catalyst output for fuel cells used in vehicles and heavy transport. Albuquerque has drawn additional clean-energy manufacturers, including Maxeon Solar Technologies, which announced a $1 billion investment for the largest solar cell and panel facility in the U.S. at Mesa del Sol with operations scheduled for 2025. Array Technologies is also moving solar-tracker production to the city’s West Side after the Inflation Reduction Act took effect.
The city itself set a target of 100 percent renewable energy for municipal operations by 2025. It has installed or planned 7.5 MW of onsite solar and is developing a 25 MW Solar Direct project.
New facilities and efficiency standards
The John A. Gordon Albuquerque Complex is on track for LEED Gold certification with a 210 kW photovoltaic rooftop array, a projected 30 percent cut in energy use and a 44 percent reduction in potable water consumption. These projects sit alongside Pajarito Powder’s catalyst line, which directly supplies components for hydrogen fuel cells.
State and federal incentives continue to shape hiring and construction timelines. Local manufacturers are now matching equipment orders and workforce training to the same policy signals that prompted the LEDA award and the Maxeon site selection.
Companies tracking these incentives can review the LEDA grant criteria and the Inflation Reduction Act apprenticeship provisions through the City of Albuquerque’s economic development office and the state energy department websites for upcoming application windows.