September 10th, Savannah, Georgia – Pajarito Powder is among the twelve finalists announced for the eighth annual Ocean Exchange™, to present solutions “to generate economic growth and increase productivity while reducing the use of nature’s resources and the production of waste.” The full press release from Ocean Exchange can be viewed here:

The twelve finalists will compete for one of two $100,000 awards from worldwide sponsor Wallenius Wilhelmsen, and sponsors Gulfstream Aerospace, the Littlejohn Family Foundation, Bunge, Savannah Economic Development Authority, Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power, Oceaneering and other contributors.

The Ocean Exchange™ is a nonprofit organization with the mission to help advance the adoption of solutions in the field of sustainability. The stated aim is to “seek solutions with working prototypes that reduce waste and the use of nature’s resources while increasing productivity and respecting cultures around the world.”

Pajarito Powder was selected for commercializing hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyzer catalysts products. Because catalysts are a substantial part (greater than 40%) of the stack level cost of a fuel cell, as well as comprising an enormous volume of material in an electrolyzer, improving their efficiency, durability and overall performance while reducing their cost will aid in making fuel cells and electrolyzers more broadly available. In maritime applications, this begins by replacing diesel units at port facilities, initially, as emissions-free fuel cell units replace traditional diesel engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) and motors in cranes, booms, forklifts, drayage trucks and other material handling vehicles. Larger and subsequent generations of fuel cells will be able to power large ships, replacing the heavily polluting bunker fuel traditionally used by cargo vessels – all made possible by improvements to catalyst performance, efficiency and cost.

Pajarito Powder CEO and Chairman, Thomas J. Stephenson commented, “We are elated to have been selected as a presenting finalist by Ocean Exchange; it is further testimony to the global interest in solving big, complicated problems through the intelligent application of R&D and commercial production of technology. There has been much attention to the reduction of air pollution on land through the use of zero emission propulsion technologies, and we are excited to present how the same technology can have a similar positive benefit to the sustainability of the world’s oceans.”

Pajarito Powder, LLC is a venture-backed startup, funded by the Verge Fund, Omphalos Venture Partners, LLC and other investors, focused on developing next-generation fuel cell catalysts and catalyst supports for the automotive and other industries. By improving performance of the catalyst, increasing durability and decreasing the cost, hydrogen infrastructure for use as an e-fuel becomes increasingly more viable, enabling sustainable, portable energy storage and conversion via fuel cells. Working with automotive OEMs and other major manufacturers, Pajarito Powder is well poised to lead advanced catalyst and catalyst support development in the rapidly growing fuel cell and green-hydrogen production industries.