An industrial platform developed by French startup Plaskimia combines plasma, continuous flow chemistry and artificial intelligence to invent a new generation of chemical processes — which could be faster to develop, more resource-efficient, safer and more competitive.
What if the next revolution in chemistry came not from the molecules themselves, but from the way they are made? That is the bet Plaskimia is making.
The French deeptech company is built on more than a decade of research conducted at Chimie Paris-PSL.
By bringing together plasma, continuous-flow chemistry, and artificial intelligence within a single industrial platform, the company aims to transform the way chemical processes are conceived, developed, and industrialised.
Its objective is simple: to develop new processes faster, using less energy, fewer raw materials, and with a smaller environmental footprint.
In practical terms, its technology makes it possible to activate a chemical reaction in a microreactor without a furnace, without a metal catalyst, and without the extreme conditions required by traditional chemistry — at a time when rising energy costs, stricter environmental standards, and international competition are forcing the European chemical industry to change its methods.
Reinventing processes not molecules
For decades, the chemical industry has steadily improved its processes. But that incremental approach is now reaching its limits. A large share of industrial processes still relies on technologies developed several decades ago. They often require high temperatures, high pressures, metal catalysts, or solvents whose economic and environmental costs are becoming increasingly difficult to justify. Optimising what already exists is no longer enough.
The startup has developed a platform capable of designing, testing, optimising, and industrialising new processes through a modular, electrified, data-driven architecture.
Laurent Boitard, CEO of Plaskimia, said: “For decades, innovation in chemistry has focused on discovering new molecules. We believe the next revolution will be about how they are made.
“That is what we are building at Plaskimia: an industrial platform capable of accelerating the design of more resource-efficient, safer, and more competitive processes. Europe’s industrial sovereignty will also depend on its ability to invent the processes that will make the molecules of tomorrow.”
A platform learning from every reaction
The platform is based on two complementary technology components:
- PlasmaFlow is continuous-flow plasma chemistry which continuously circulates gases and liquids through reactors. Within these reactors, cold plasma generates reactive chemical species capable of triggering the desired reaction.
- Depending on the application, this approach makes it possible, at ambient pressure, to limit the use of certain metal catalysts and facilitate scale-up, from the laboratory to initial industrial pilots.
- PlasmAI is the platform’s learning engine. Each experiment feeds a proprietary database that brings together reaction parameters, analytical results, and the performance achieved. These data then feed artificial intelligence models capable of proposing new experimental conditions, optimising existing reactions, and exploring new synthetic routes.
Professor Michael Tatoulian, CSO and co-founder of Plaskimia, added: “Plasma is known as the fourth state of matter, after solids, liquids, and gases. It is found in lightning and at the heart of stars, and some scientific studies suggest it may have played a role in the emergence of the very first organic molecules on Earth.
“For 13 years, we have learned to channel its reactivity, once considered too aggressive for industrial chemistry, until we could make it as precise and reproducible as a conventional laboratory reaction. This mastery is what is now opening the way to a new generation of chemical processes.”
Decarbonisation drive
By replacing part of the thermal energy traditionally used with precisely controlled electrical energy, Plaskimia is part of the movement to electrify the chemical industry, considered one of the sector’s main drivers of decarbonisation.
Its platform makes it possible to reduce energy consumption, limit the use of solvents and catalysts, improve operational safety thanks to very small reaction volumes, shorten development cycles, and accelerate the transition from the laboratory to industrialisation.
Depending on the processes studied by the company, CO₂ emission reductions can reach up to 80% in certain use cases.
For industrial companies, these environmental benefits also translate into economic gains: less energy consumed, fewer raw materials used, less waste generated, and shorter development cycles.
Industry validation
Already engaged in several industrial collaborations, Plaskimia is now turning more than a decade of research conducted at Chimie Paris-PSL into a platform designed to accelerate the development of a new generation of chemical processes.
Since 2019, the laboratory has worked with Sanofi to explore the potential of plasma chemistry for medicinal chemistry. It also relies on several families of international patents, an exclusive commercialisation license, and a team that brings together expertise in organic chemistry, plasma physics, process engineering, microfluidics, and artificial intelligence.
Gaining competitive advantage
The platform was designed to meet the needs of sectors in which the process is as much of a strategic advantage as the molecule itself.
It is intended to accelerate the development of new synthetic routes for fine chemicals, ingredients for the flavors, fragrances, and cosmetics sectors, the pharmaceutical industry, and fluorinated compounds.
In the long term, the company aims to become the technology partner of choice for industrial companies developing the next generation of chemical processes.
