YPlasma to debut world’s first plasma-cooled laptop at CES 2026

The death of the mechanical laptop fan may be closer than expected. YPlasma, a deep-tech startup based in Newark and Spain, has announced it will unveil a revolutionary solid-state cooling solution at CES 2026. Replacing traditional rotary fans with “Dielectric Barrier Discharge” (DBD) plasma actuators, the company claims to have achieved high-performance cooling with zero moving parts, zero noise, and a form factor thinner than that of a typical cooling solution.

To achieve this feat, YPlasma (via Techpowerup) is using a 200-micron cooling film, an ultra-thin layer that uses electrically charged plasma to generate a high-velocity “ionic wind”. While ionic cooling has been explored before, it typically relied on “corona discharge”, which suffered from needle erosion and the production of harmful ozone. YPlasma's DBD approach uses a physical dielectric barrier to stabilise the discharge, making it ozone-free and durable enough to last the entire lifespan of a consumer device. Because there are no bearings or blades, the system operates at a virtually silent 17 dBA.

The 200-micron thickness also allows thermal engineers to integrate cooling directly into the chassis walls or heat sinks, potentially enabling a new generation of “hyper-thin” laptops that don't have to throttle performance due to a lack of airflow. Interestingly, the actuators are also the first in the world capable of dual-mode operation, providing both cooling and heating within the same film.

YPlasma will be hosting a live demonstration of a plasma-cooled laptop prototype at CES 2026 on Wednesday, January 7th.

KitGuru says: If YPlasma can deliver on its promise, this could be the most significant shift in PC cooling since the transition from passive heatsinks to active fans.

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