Terraplasma
Terraplasma is a German deep-tech company that develops and licenses Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology, enabling OEM partners to build chemical-free disinfection, wound care, skin wellness, and water treatment products under their own brands.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersGarching, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Terraplasma does
Terraplasma GmbH is a German deep-tech company founded in 2011 as a spin-off of the Max Planck Society, headquartered in Garching bei München with a team of 1-10 employees. It develops and licenses Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology — a partially ionized gas generated from ambient air and electrical energy that inactivates bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores without chemicals, heat, UV, or radiation. Its proprietary platform centers on miniaturized plasma generation modules backed by 60+ patents worldwide, with application-specific features such as a "plasma cocktail" of reactive species, automated plasma-power adaptation (Plasma Aqua Intelligence), and aerosol-assisted plasma for accelerated surface disinfection.
The company monetizes primarily through B2B technology licensing and collaborative development with OEM partners who manufacture and commercialize end products under their own brands. Named licensees/partners include Bosch (FreshUp textile refresher), KIMETEC GmbH (PlasmaEgg disinfection device), and BioLab Holdings (US commercialization of plasmapax for wound care, dermatology, and podiatry). It also operates a consumer subsidiary, hyped about science GmbH (founded 2025), which sells the Phlas skin-wellness device. The medical wound-care business was historically run through terraplasma medical GmbH (plasma care, Class IIa) but completed a strategic exit in 2023, shifting Terraplasma toward a pure licensing-and-partnership model with active R&D pipelines in water treatment (tpWater, Plasma Pure Water) and mobile disinfection (tpTop, CAPbot with TUM).
Across its four primary verticals — medical/healthcare, cosmetics/skin care, disinfection/hygiene, and water treatment — Terraplasma has brought five products from prototype to commercial launch and enabled partners to sell 35,000+ units with embedded CAP technology since founding. Revenue model streams include technology licensing/royalties, collaborative development services, and (via subsidiary) hardware sales, with cumulative disclosed grant and strategic equity funding in the low six figures plus a BioLab strategic investment. The company has no public listing and no institutional VC round disclosed.
Terraplasma firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Terraplasma
- Legal name
- terraplasma GmbH
- Website
- https://terraplasma.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Terraplasma is a German deep-tech company that develops and licenses Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology, enabling OEM partners to build chemical-free disinfection, wound care, skin wellness, and water treatment products under their own brands.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Terraplasma is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Garching
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Terraplasma business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Technology Licensing: Licensing patented cold plasma technology to partner companies for product development and commercialization across medical, cosmetics, disinfection, and water treatment applications
- Medical Device Sales (via subsidiary): Sale of medical devices like plasma care through terraplasma medical GmbH subsidiary before strategic exit in 2023
- Collaborative Development: Joint development partnerships with companies providing development services and technology transfer for cold plasma innovations
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Terraplasma product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Terraplasma develops and licenses Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology — a partially ionized gas produced from ambient air and electrical energy that inactivates microorganisms without chemicals, heat, UV, or radiation. The company's core offering combines patented miniaturized plasma hardware, a reactive-species "Plasma Cocktail", and application-specific know-how, which it transfers through licensing and joint development to partners that build medical devices, consumer electronics, disinfection units, and water treatment systems under their own brands.
Product overview
Terraplasma GmbH is a cold plasma technology company that develops and commercializes products based on Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP). The company operates through multiple product streams: (1) Medical devices including plasma care (Class IIa wound treatment device by terraplasma medical GmbH) and plasmapax (portable CAP device for antimicrobial treatments); (2) Consumer products including Phlas (skin wellness device by hyped about science GmbH) and FreshUp by Bosch (odor elimination device); (3) Commercial products including PlasmaEgg by Kimetec (disinfection device); and (4) Research prototypes including tpWater/Plasma Pure Water (water treatment), tpTop (surface disinfection), and CAPbot (mobile cleaning robot with TUM). The company has sold over 35,000 products containing its patented cold plasma technology and holds over 60 patents worldwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- plasma care: Handheld mobile medical device for wound treatment using cold atmospheric plasma; Class IIa approved for outpatient, clinical, and office settings.
- Phlas
- PlasmaEgg
- tpWater
- tpTop
- CAPbot
Products and services
- plasma care Portable, battery-operated medical device using cold atmospheric plasma for the treatment of chronic and acute wounds. Class IIa approved for use by outpatient wound specialists and in clinical and office settings; battery supports approximately 120 treatments per charge.
- plasmapax Portable cold atmospheric plasma device for antimicrobial treatments targeting wound care, dermatology, and podiatry applications. CE-marked, pursuing FDA clearance, and used in over 100,000 treatments globally; commercialized in the U.S. through a strategic partnership with BioLab Holdings, Inc.
- Phlas Consumer skin wellness device using cold plasma technology to support skin regeneration, reduce redness, and care for the skin without irritating ingredients. Based on wound-treatment plasma technology and developed by the hyped about science GmbH subsidiary.
- PlasmaEgg Mobile disinfection device using cold plasma for chemical-, UV-, heat-, and radiation-free decontamination of everyday objects, laboratory equipment, and personal protective equipment. Developed and commercialized by KIMETEC GmbH under license from Terraplasma.
- FreshUp Compact, portable textile refresher device developed and sold by Bosch using licensed Terraplasma cold plasma technology. Eliminates unpleasant odors from clothing and textiles without water or chemicals by breaking down odor molecules with cold plasma.
- tpTop Handheld, mobile cold plasma decontamination device with aerosol support designed for fast surface disinfection. Achieves 99.9% deactivation of microorganisms within seconds, targeting quick, chemical-free disinfection of various surfaces.
- tpWater Prototype cold plasma household water treatment device designed to treat drinking water without chemicals while preserving natural mineral composition. Currently being tested and optimized as part of Terraplasma's Plasma Pure Water program.
- Plasma Pure Water Industrial-scale cold plasma water treatment demonstration system targeting a flow rate of at least 100 liters per minute for large households and smaller industrial applications. Includes the proprietary Plasma Aqua Intelligence (PAI) module that adapts plasma power dynamically to changing water load conditions.
- CAPbot Mobile cleaning robot prototype combining a cold plasma source with plasma-activated mist and an automated wiping system. Developed jointly with the Technical University of Munich (TUM); achieves up to 5-log (99.999%) bacterial germ reduction in 5–10 seconds, targeting clinics, food processing, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, and public facilities.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.999% inactivation of microorganisms (5 log reduction) in seconds with aerosol-assisted plasma technology
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Terraplasma
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Terraplasma technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Terraplasma partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- BioLab Holdings, Inc.corePhoenix-based medical manufacturer announced strategic investment and partnership with terraplasma medical GmbH to commercialize plasmapax portable cold atmospheric plasma device for antimicrobial treatments in wound care, dermatology, and podiatry in the US market. Leverages BioLab's distribution network with terraplasma's research-proven CE-marked device pending FDA clearance.
- Technical University of Munich (TUM)minorInterdisciplinary research project 'CAPbot' developing a mobile cleaning robot with plasma-activated mist technology. Combines cold plasma source with automated wiping robot system for use in clinics, food processing, pharmaceutical, cosmetics industries, and public facilities.
- KIMETEC GmbHcoreCo-developed PlasmaEgg, a mobile disinfection device using cold plasma technology for effective and sustainable disinfection of everyday objects, laboratory equipment, and personal protective equipment without chemicals, UV, heat, or radiation.
- hyped about science GmbHcoreCo-developed Phlas, a compact consumer cold plasma device for skin wellness and well-being. Based on technology originally developed for wound treatment, Phlas regenerates skin, reduces redness, and cares for skin without irritating ingredients.
- BoschcoreLicensed terraplasma technology for FreshUp product - an innovative textile refresher device that eliminates unpleasant odors without the use of water or chemicals using cold plasma to break down odor molecules.
- terraplasma medical GmbHcoreFormer subsidiary that developed plasma care medical device (Class IIa) for wound treatment. Strategic exit completed in 2023. The plasma care is the first truly mobile cold plasma medical device for wound healing.
- Adtec HealthcareminorPartner company logo listed on terraplasma website, nature of partnership not specified.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Terraplasma competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Xylem: Global water technology major serving municipal, industrial and residential water treatment; potential incumbent competitor and partner target for Terraplasma's emerging Plasma Pure Water / tpWater platform.
- Bioquell (Ecolab): Specialist in bio-decontamination using hydrogen peroxide vapor, now part of Ecolab; competes with Terraplasma's chemical-free disinfection narrative in healthcare and life sciences facilities.
- STERIS: Global sterilization and disinfection equipment/services provider for healthcare and life sciences; large incumbent that Terraplasma's CAP disinfection products must compete against for hospital and industrial customers.
- Apyx Medical: US-listed medical device company (formerly Bovie Medical) commercializing plasma-based surgical and aesthetic devices (Renuvion); broader portfolio but competes in the plasma-for-medical category.
Emerging players
- Xenex Disinfection Services: Pioneer of UV-light pulsed xenon disinfection robots for healthcare facilities; represents a competing chemical-free disinfection technology with similar 'no-residue' value proposition.
- NovaBay Pharmaceuticals: Developer of non-antibiotic antimicrobial products (auriclosene) for eye and skin infections; adjacent mission of combating pathogens without traditional antibiotics, conceptually overlapping with CAP antimicrobial use cases.
Others
- Cynosure (Hologic): Aesthetic and medical device company offering energy-based skin and beauty devices; adjacent to Terraplasma's Phlas consumer skin-care device but operates in a broader energy-based aesthetics category.
Direct peers
- PlasmaLeap Technologies: UK-based cold atmospheric plasma technology company developing CAP devices for chronic wound care, infection control, and dermatology — direct overlap on medical CAP use cases.
- neoplas tools (neoplas med): German cold plasma medical device company developing plasma jet systems (kINPen) for wound healing and oncology indications — directly overlaps with Terraplasma's medical CAP application.
- Relyon Plasma: German-based developer of cold atmospheric plasma technology for industrial surface treatment, printing, and disinfection applications; closest direct competitor with overlapping CAP platform and similar licensing-to-OEM business model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Terraplasma social profiles
Digital presenceTerraplasma compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Terraplasma financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Terraplasma leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Terraplasma subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Terraplasma funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Terraplasma M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Terraplasma
What does Terraplasma do?
Terraplasma develops and licenses Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) technology — a partially ionized gas produced from ambient air and electrical energy that inactivates microorganisms without chemicals, heat, UV, or radiation. The company's core offering combines patented miniaturized plasma hardware, a reactive-species "Plasma Cocktail", and application-specific know-how, which it transfers through licensing and joint development to partners that build medical devices, consumer electronics, disinfection units, and water treatment systems under their own brands.
Is Terraplasma a public or private company?
Terraplasma is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Terraplasma founded?
Terraplasma was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Terraplasma based?
Terraplasma is headquartered in Garching, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Terraplasma make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Technology Licensing is the primary driver. The others are medical Device Sales (via subsidiary) and collaborative Development.
Who are Terraplasma's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Xylem, Bioquell (Ecolab), STERIS and Apyx Medical. Emerging players are Xenex Disinfection Services and NovaBay Pharmaceuticals. Cynosure (Hologic) is listed as an others. Direct peers are PlasmaLeap Technologies, neoplas tools (neoplas med) and Relyon Plasma.
Does Terraplasma have an API?
No public API is recorded for Terraplasma.