Industrial Plasma Torches

arc · burner replacement · kilns

A plasma torch is an electric burner that runs hotter than any flame. Its job in industry is to replace burners in kilns and furnaces that resistance heating cannot reach.

Log-scale bar chart comparing process temperatures with heat sources: DRI shaft furnace about 1,000 degrees C, cement clinker about 1,450, glass melt about 1,500, steelmaking about 1,600, natural gas flame about 1,950, and a plasma arc core at 5,000 to 20,000 degrees C. PROCESS TEMPERATURES AGAINST HEAT SOURCES (LOG SCALE) DRI shaft furnace~1,000 °C Cement clinker~1,450 °C Glass melt~1,500 °C Steelmaking~1,600 °C Natural gas flame~1,950 °C Plasma arc core5,000-20,000 °C 500 1,000 5,000 20,000
Arc core
5,000-20,000 °C
Unit size
kW to multi-MW
Gases
Air, N2, Ar, CO2
Companies tracked
7, 1 Chinese
Hub
Industry

Finding

Plasma torches are the most direct electric replacement for a burner above about 1,200 °C, but industrial units remain a few-supplier, megawatt-scale niche

A plasma torch passes a DC or RF arc through a gas stream - air, nitrogen, argon, CO2 or recycled process gas - and ionizes it into a jet at thousands of degrees. The jet goes where the burner was, so a kiln or furnace keeps its shape and refractory. Torch efficiency (electricity into the gas) is typically 80-90%, and units run from hundreds of kilowatts to several megawatts each.

Cement is the main test case. Cementa (Heidelberg Materials) and Vattenfall ran the CemZero plasma pilot in Sweden, and Heidelberg Materials has since tested plasma heating at cement plants in Europe; a full-size kiln needs tens of megawatts of torches. Iron ore pellet plants are the other early market: PyroGenesis (Canada) supplies torches to replace gas or oil burners in induration furnaces, where one reported retrofit claims roughly 185,000 t/yr of avoided CO2. Plasma also runs waste vitrification and gasification, metal powder production and methane pyrolysis: Monolith in Hallam, Nebraska uses plasma to split natural gas into carbon black and hydrogen.

The constraints are supply and power. Industrial-grade torch makers are few - PyroGenesis, ScanArc (Sweden), Europlasma (France), Tetronics (UK), Westinghouse Plasma technology now under other owners - and electrodes are consumables with limited lives. Chinese plasma work centers on hazardous and medical waste treatment units and arc heaters for research. Multi-megawatt DC supplies need substation and transformer upgrades with the same long lead times as other grid equipment; see Grid Equipment Supply Chain.

Uses

Where plasma torches go

Industrial plasma torch applications
ApplicationProcess temperatureWhat the torch replacesStatus
Cement kilns~1,450 °CCoal or gas main burnerPilots (CemZero, Heidelberg Materials)
Iron ore pelletizing~1,300 °CGas or oil burners in indurationCommercial retrofits (PyroGenesis)
Steel reheating and ladles~1,200-1,600 °CGas burnersPilots; induction competes
Waste vitrification and gasification1,200-1,600 °CIncinerationCommercial at small scale
Methane pyrolysisAbove 1,500 °CSteam reformingCommercial (Monolith)
Battery materialsUp to ~3,000 °CGas or resistive furnacesGraphite and powder processing

Constraints

What limits deployment

Plasma torch deployment constraints
ConstraintDetail
Vendor concentrationA handful of industrial-grade suppliers; cutting-torch brands do not cover this market
ElectrodesCopper or tungsten electrodes wear and need regular replacement
Power suppliesMulti-MW DC rectifiers and transformers with long lead times
Process fitHeat transfer differs from a luminous flame; kiln chemistry and dust must be revalidated
GridA large kiln needs tens of megawatts of new load

Vendors

Industrial plasma torch makers

Multi-MW industrial torches come from a few small companies; cutting-torch brands are not in this market. Active companies first, then pilots, research groups and companies that exited.

Industrial plasma torch makers
CompanyProductsHQTechnologyReference sitesStatus
EuroplasmaPlasma torches; asbestos and fly-ash vitrificationFranceDC plasma torchesFly-ash vitrification unit delivered to China (2017)active
MonolithMethane pyrolysis to carbon black and hydrogenUSPlasma methane pyrolysisOlive Creek, Hallam, Nebraskaactive
PyroGenesisPlasma torches for pellet induration, waste and powdersCanadaNon-transferred DC torches to multi-MWIron ore pelletizing retrofit trialsactive
ScanArc Plasma TechnologiesHigh-power plasma heaters for process heatSwedenDC plasma heaters to multi-MWactive
TetronicsDC plasma arc furnaces for metal recovery and hazardous wasteUKTransferred-arc plasma furnacesactive
Westinghouse Plasma (Alter NRG)Plasma torches for gasification and vitrificationCanadaNon-transferred DC torchesactive
Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of SciencesAir-arc plasma torches for solid-waste treatmentChinaDC air plasma torchesresearch

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Industrial Plasma Torches
Sources
PyroGenesis, Heidelberg Materials, Vattenfall, Monolith disclosures; industrial process temperature references
Updated
October 2026