THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ACCELERATE THE DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING OF PAJARITO POWDER’S (PAJARITO) DURABLE ENGINEERED CATALYST SUPPORT (ECS) MATERIALS AND SUPPORTED PT (PT/ECS) AND PT ALLOY-BASED CATALYSTS (PTX/ECS WHERE X = NI OR CO) FROM 30 G/DAY TO 4 KG/DAY WITH THE NEEDED DURABILITY, QUALITY, AND RELIABILITY TO FACILITATE THE US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S (DOE) PRODUCTION TARGET OF 20,000 STACKS PER YEAR. THIS PROJECT WILL ADVANCE THE TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL OF ECS AND PTX/ECS PRODUCTION FROM 4 ¿ 8. THE PROJECT TEAM WILL DELIVER AN IMPROVED PRODUCTION PROCESS THAT ENHANCES SUSTAINABILITY OF AND REDUCES THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF PAJARITO’S MANUFACTURING PROCESS WHILE KEEPING THE RESULTING CATALYSTS COST COMPETITIVE. AT PRODUCTION SCALE, PAJARITO’S SUPPORT AND CATALYST COSTS (NOT INCLUDING PLATINUM GROUP METAL (PGM) COSTS) WILL BE REDUCED BY > 90%, ENABLING GREATER MARKET ADOPTION. SIMULTANEOUSLY, THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE TO 24 UP-AND-COMING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) STUDENTS. THE TEAM WILL SCALE ECS TO 2 KG/DAY AND PTX/ECS TO 4 KG/DAY AND PRODUCE RELIABLE, DURABLE, CONSISTENT CATALYSTS; INNOVATE ECS AND CATALYST CHARACTERISTICS TO FURTHER ENHANCE PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY; AND IMPROVE MANUFACTURING SUSTAINABILITY AND COST.