About Us

The Pajarito Powder team brings extensive experience from both fuel cell startups and the industry as a whole, from theoretical and practical applications in research, and finally from manufacturing and business development. Pajarito Powder is poised for success, given its world-class Technical Advisory Board, experienced Board of Managers, and management team.

All contribute to the effort to produce advanced catalysts and Engineered Catalyst Supports (ECSs) for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs), as well as high-performing Engineered Electrolyzer Catalysts (EEC) and the world’s only commercial Precious-Metal Free (PMF) catalysts for non-mobile fuel cell applications. Pajarito Powder’s patented VariPore™ process is readily-scaled for high-volume manufacturing – the condition ultimately necessary for cost-effective, widespread fuel cell adoption and the team holds a wide breadth of electrocatalyst development and manufacturing experience.

Board of Managers

Thomas J. Stephenson

Board Chairman

Prior to co-founding Pajarito Powder in the spring of 2012, Mr. Stephenson was a co-founder of the Verge Fund in 2003, and currently serves as Managing General Partner in addition to his responsibilities with Pajarito Powder. Mr. Stephenson has worked with a number of current and past Verge portfolio companies, including Altela and Wellkeeper, and was previously on the Board of Directors of LabStart, a joint-venture entity created to assist in commercialization of technologies from Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the sources of technology for Pajarito Powder. He previously served as a director and the lead investor for Mesofuel, a start-up company commercializing novel hydrogen reforming technologies for the fuel cell industry.

Paul Short

Mr. Short was a co-founder of Pajarito Powder, along with Mr. Stephenson. Mr. Short holds a BS and an MS in Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University, and held positions with both NMSU’s Physical Science Laboratory and Honeywell as a Principal Engineer. Later he founded InnovASIC, a design services company that developed integrated circuits for other companies. Mr. Short later evolved InnovASIC from a services firm to a semiconductor producer that designs, manufactures, and sells integrated circuits, earning over $5 million in revenue during a period of industry contraction. He was also the founder of Metaphor Computing and Chief Operating Officer of Altela, a water treatment equipment manufacturer. At Altela, he led the team that designed, manufactured, installed and tested the next generation product, generating $1.6M in revenue in one year.

Inge Schildermans

Dr. Ir Inge Schildermans is the Senior Vice President of Fiber Technologies at Bekaert, a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies. After finishing Chemical Engineering studies in Belgium, she combined a PhD in Applied Bio Sciences with R&D project management at Bekaert Fiber Technologies. Mrs Shildermans held several positions within Bekaert, ranging from Technology and Innovation management at the HQ to Operational & Country management in Eastern Europe (Slovakia) before she returned to Belgium in 2019 to take up the current role of SVP in Fiber Technologies. Her Business unit develops, manufactures and commercializes high-end metal fiber products for several end-applications in Filtration (polymer, semicon, gas) and in Automotive applications offering Conductive & Heat resistant Textiles and Heating Cables. Since 2000, Bekaert Fiber Technologies is active in the development and commercialization of Porous transport layers for PEM electrolysers. Additionally, Mrs Schildermans is Board member of Hyve, a consortium of Belgian industry and research players developing new breakthrough water electrolysis solutions.

About Us

Board of Managers

Thomas J. Stephenson

Paul Short

Inge Schildermans

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Pajarito Powder benefits from resources provided by the State of New Mexico Economic Development Department: JTIP, STEP and other programs through the Office of Science and Technology.

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