WPC History

WPC’s competitive strength comes from its plasma technology which was developed over a period greater than 30 years and with an estimated $100 million in Westinghouse R&D funding. The WPC technology was initially developed in collaboration with NASA for use in the Apollo space program to simulate space vehicle re-entry conditions of over 5,500°C (10,000°F). Since the 1980s, the WPC technology has proven itself in various applications over several years in industrial facilities owned or operated by companies such as Alcan, General Motors and Hitachi Metals. WPC’s torches have proven to be robust and reliable even in the most rigorous and demanding applications.

WPC’s plasma technology and research facility, in Madison Pennsylvania, has completed approximately 100 pilot tests on a multitude of feedstocks. Since 2002, Hitachi Metals has been operating two waste-to-energy facilities that use WPC’s technology. In North America, WPC plasma technology has been selected by numerous projects that are currently under development to convert household waste into energy.