NZ opens plasma arc refrigerant destruction plant
23rd March 2026
NEW ZEALAND: A new NZ$10m (€5m) refrigerant destruction plant, the first of its type in the southern hemisphere, has been officially opened in Kawerau on New Zealand’s North Island.
The new plant employs steam plasma arc technology, developed and supplied by Canadian company PyroGenesis. The patented SPARC system uses inexpensive steam as the plasma-forming gas to generate a hydrolysis reaction and will be capable of destroying up to 100,000kg/yr of synthetic refrigerants, such as CFCs, HFCs, and HCFCs.
The technology is said to significantly reduce operating costs , with cleaner operations and with no incineration. It also operates with 99.99999% efficiency, resulting in safe, stable compounds that can be released into the environment.
The new facility, funded by product stewardship organisation, the Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants (Cool-Safe), was opened by the minister of conservation, Tama Potaka, on Friday. Its inauguration means that New Zealand’s end-of-life refrigerants will no longer need to be stockpiled and shipped offshore.
The new facility is also adjacent to geothermal plants, enabling the use of renewable energy to help power the operations and support an environmentally sustainable closed-loop system.
Speaking at the facility opening, chair of the Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants, Richard Lauder, said: “This plant represents the beginning of a new chapter in advanced environmental stewardship and action on dealing with end-of-life refrigerants in Aotearoa New Zealand.”
He accepted that recycling and reclaiming gases had a place to extend the life of legacy gases but added: “Ultimately, to fully address the climate impact, these gases must be safely and permanently destroyed when they reach end-of-life. And now, that solution exists here in New Zealand.”
The SPARC system is based on the technology originally developed by the company for both the US Navy and US Air Force. Similar systems are installed on the newest class of US Navy aircraft carriers to safely and cleanly destroy waste that would otherwise have to be stored until returned to base or dumped at sea.
Using steam plasma as a heat source, the SPARC system operates by feeding the waste continuously to a two-zone plasma reactor. With a reactor temperature of over 1300°C, the steam plasma hydrolysis reaction quickly and efficiently breaks down the waste into carbon CO2 and H2O. The gas stream is then rapidly quenched to prevent any reformation of dioxins and furans. Acid gases generated by the process are readily scrubbed out of the stream and neutralised, resulting in an offgas that far exceeds environmental regulations.
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