Much of the pollution from power plants is caused by flames that are either too hot (contributing to smog) or do not burn the material completely (creating soot). To create the ideal flame, ClearSign used high-voltage electric fields to manipulate the flames—improving how the air and fuel mixed together and spreading out the flame to prevent hot spots. 

Although the concept of shaping flames with electricity has been known for decades, the previous methods usually involved plasma, which requires large amounts of energy. In contrast, the ClearSign technology works by using electrodes within the flame itself. The electrodes produce high voltages that influence the way the ions move, and the formation of the flame can be controlled by varying the voltage.