Aurora and the EIC Accelerator: Cold Plasma Awaits Its CE Mark

Aurora, founded in Rouen in 2019 by Jan Laarman and Thomas Parias on patents developed with the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne and the CRITT-MDTS research centre in Charleville-Mézières, sterilises medical devices with a cold plasma made from air gases, oxygen, nitrogen or argon, under low pressure, instead of chemicals such as ethylene oxide or hydrogen peroxide. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's June 2023 cut-off with blended finance and received an EU grant of €2.50 million for ASCLEPIOS, a €3.57 million project that ran from December 2023 to May 2025, according to CORDIS. Its first product is Aqsaniit, a steriliser for hospitals aimed at flexible endoscopes, which the company says cannot be properly re-sterilised today; it cites contamination rates above 20% in France, according to SATT.

The final report says Aurora "successfully completed all major technical and strategic objectives" to take the technology from readiness level 6 to 8, built a new V3B prototype, developed its own biological indicators "after inconsistencies with external suppliers", industrialised a sterile packaging bag with Encaplast, and manufactured three pre-series Aqsaniit machines that passed design and verification testing, "forming the core of the CE marking file now under review (clearance expected in early 2026)", according to the CORDIS reporting page, last updated in December 2025. No CE mark has been announced by Aurora since.

Where Aurora Stands Now

Aurora reported no revenue and a net loss of €555,642 in 2024, according to the French ratios dataset from company filings. It files its accounts with a confidentiality declaration; it filed its 2025 accounts in July 2026, and a change to its share capital was registered in January 2026, according to BODACC. Its website carries no news after October 2024, and it has announced no customer, CE mark or FDA clearance.

The Technology: Sterilising With Air

Ethylene oxide, the most widely used sterilant for medical devices, is under growing regulatory pressure because it is linked to cancers, the report says, and it is no longer used in EU hospitals. Hospitals rely instead on steam, which damages delicate devices, or hydrogen peroxide. Aurora's plasma is made by exposing air gases to a radiofrequency field; the reactive particles kill microbes, including spores and biofilms, at low temperature without leaving chemical residues. The company says it reaches sterility in about one hour.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award aimed to take the steriliser from prototype to a hospital-ready product. Aurora reports it did the technical work, the testing and a market study with Roland Berger, and filed for CE marking. But the step that turns a machine into a product, regulatory clearance, was still pending at the end of the project and remains unannounced more than a year later.

1. Optimised plasma processDeliveredV3B prototype.
2. Pre-series machinesDeliveredThree built and tested.
3. CE markingFiledNo approval announced.
4. Market entryNot yet€0 revenue in 2024.

The Money

The EU covered 70% of the project. Before the EIC award, Aurora raised €3 million of equity in December 2021, won €3 million from the France 2030 programme in February 2022 and raised €2 million from existing shareholders in February 2023, according to Aurora. Whether the EIC Fund invested the equity part of its blended award has not been disclosed.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Contaminated endoscopes are a known source of hospital infections, and Europe needs alternatives to ethylene oxide for the medical device industry. A sterilant made from air would address both. Aurora has the machine; until it has the CE mark, no hospital can buy it.

The Verdict

Aurora and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.