Pajarito Powder R&D team members Dr. Michael Payne and Dr. Nico Dwarica had invited presentations at the 249th Electrochemical Society (ECS) in Seattle, Washington May 26-29, 2026. Invited presentations are solicited by the organization, from a recognized expert, distinguished from contributed talks.

F02-1454 – Manufacturing Electrocatalysts to Accelerate the Hydrogen Economy: The Challenges of Scaling up of Supported PGM Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Applications
N. S. Dwarica, D. Bernal, N. Lorenzo Serrat, G. Shin (Pajarito Powder), C. Cannan (Pajarito Powder, LLC), M. T. Payne, and D. Topley (Pajarito Powder)

This presentation highlighted some of the technical challenges encountered during the scale up of various commercial electrocatalyst products offered by Pajarito Powder, LLC (Pajarito). Namely, the choice of unit operations and process intensification efforts geared towards the more facile and cost-effective manufacture of key PEMFC cathode and anode catalyst materials. The goal of these processes was to find the intersection between facile catalyst production, high purity, and enhanced durability to meet the needs of industry.

F02-1455 – Engineering in the Lab and at Scale: R&D to Manufacturing of Advanced Carbon Materials
M. T. Payne (Pajarito Powder), A. Nance, M. Eader, C. Cannan (Pajarito Powder, LLC), N. S. Dwarica, and D. Topley (Pajarito Powder)

This presentation discussed Pajarito’s invention-to-manufacturing process for advanced carbon materials, highlighting Pajarito’s laboratory and pilot-scale carbon capabilities. Decision-making criteria where laid out across developmental scales with particular emphasis on practical application of green chemistry principles. Material quality and performance was demonstrated throughout with rigorous materials characterization and performance testing, including finished catalyst testing in 5 cm² PEMFC and PEMWE membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). An overly rigorous process may undermine the agile product development available to startups, but they seek to demonstrate that rapid innovation and successful scale-up can occur in tandem.

These presentations can be found at the 249th ECS Meeting site.