Swedish SME developing plasma reactor technology for nitrogen fixation from air as a low-emission alternative to fossil-fuel-derived fertilizer.
Scanarc Plasma Technologies is a Swedish SME specializing in industrial plasma process technology — systems that use high-temperature plasma to drive chemical reactions that conventional heat or catalysis cannot achieve efficiently. Their most concrete H2020 contribution is plasma-based nitrogen fixation: using plasma to convert atmospheric nitrogen directly into fertilizer, bypassing the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. They have also applied plasma expertise to waste and resource recovery, contributing to a landfill mining research network. In both cases, their value is the plasma reactor technology itself — the hardware and process know-how that makes difficult chemistries industrially feasible.
Led participation in 'Sustainable Manure' (2020–2022), developing plasma treatment of air to produce fertilizer as a low-emission alternative to conventional synthetic nitrogen.
Plasma process technology underpins both H2020 projects — resource recovery in NEW-MINE and fertilizer synthesis in Sustainable Manure.
Participated in NEW-MINE (2016–2020), an EU Training Network focused on recovering resources from landfill through enhanced mining and processing techniques.
Sustainable Manure targets reductions in GHG emissions and nitrate pollution by replacing fossil-fuel-derived fertilizer with plasma-produced alternatives.
In their first H2020 project (2016–2020), Scanarc contributed plasma expertise to the landfill mining domain — a circular economy angle focused on recovering value from legacy waste. Their second project (2020–2022) marks a clear pivot toward agricultural inputs and climate policy: the keywords shift entirely to air pollution, GHG, global warming, sustainable agriculture, Green Deal, and the Nitrates Directive. This suggests the company identified a stronger commercial and policy pull in decarbonizing fertilizer production than in waste processing, and repositioned accordingly.
Scanarc is moving deeper into agri-food decarbonization, positioning their plasma technology as a Haber-Bosch alternative — a space that aligns tightly with Green Deal, Farm to Fork, and fertilizer supply chain concerns that became acute after 2022.
Scanarc has never held a coordinator role — they enter consortia as a specialist technology provider, contributing plasma process hardware or know-how to projects led by others. With 17 unique partners across 8 countries from just 2 projects, they engage in mid-to-large consortia rather than bilateral arrangements. This profile suggests they are comfortable as the technology contributor in a team where others handle research coordination, dissemination, and end-user engagement.
Despite only two projects, Scanarc has touched 17 distinct partner organizations across 8 countries — a relatively broad network for a company of this size, likely reflecting the large consortium structures typical of ITN and IA funding schemes. No geographic concentration is apparent from the data.
Scanarc sits at an unusual intersection: industrial plasma hardware expertise applied to environmental and agricultural chemistry, not the more common plasma applications in metallurgy or electronics. Their plasma-from-air fertilizer angle is technically distinctive and policy-relevant, giving them a niche that larger chemical engineering firms rarely occupy. For a consortium that needs a working plasma reactor rather than a modelling partner, Scanarc brings actual industrial process capability from Hofors, Sweden.
