Puraffinity appoints new CEO and secures £6.73m to ramp up global growth

Puraffinity, a startup developing precision technologies that remove toxic ‘forever chemicals’ perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, has announced ambitious plans to scale. This follows the appointment of Vincent Caillaud as its new Chief Executive Officer and the company securing £6.73 million in new investment from BGF.

Founded in 2015 by Henrik Hagemann and Gabi Santosa, and spun-out of Imperial College London, Puraffinity provides a differentiated solution to the world’s ever-growing PFAS problem. Its technology consistently and reliably removes PFAS from water in a much more cost-effective manner, when compared with conventional treatments.

The appointment of Mr Caillaud as CEO, to boost market access for the technology, will allow Puraffinity founder Henrik Hagemann to focus on furthering the company’s market-leading technological advantage as Chief Product & Innovation Officer.

Mr Caillaud brings exceptional industry experience, having spent more than 20 years working in the water sector. He was previously CEO of Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions, a global water technology business unit within the world’s largest water, energy and waste management company, Veolia.

BGF’s investment completes Puraffinity’s £16.93 million Series A funding round, following existing funding from Octopus Ventures, HG Ventures, Kindred Capital and Verve Ventures, as well as materials science sector specialist fund Universal Materials Incubator Co (UMI).

The funding will enable Puraffinity to scale up production of its patented, PFAS-capturing material, Puratech ®, to meet exceptionally strong and growing demand across multiple sectors. It will also support the company’s work to develop fresh commercial applications that use Puraffinity’s patented materials.

Puraffinity’s precision technologies place it at the forefront of the fight against PFAS, which have been linked to multiple health issues, including cancer. Developed in the 1940s, PFAS’ molecular makeup makes them resistant to water, grease and oil, meaning they have multiple industrial uses. These same qualities make them hard to destroy, however, hence the name ‘forever chemicals’. And according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, they have entered water supplies worldwide, with an estimated 97% of people having PFAS in their bodies.

International regulators are examining bans or limits on the amount of PFAS that drinking water can contain, in an attempt to tackle the estimated €16 trillion annual cost of environmental remediation and healthcare.

Puratech, the breakthrough adsorbent media that Puraffinity has developed, can be applied across use cases, as it features a customisable plug-in solution that fits into any existing water treatment system. Puratech can also be tailored to capture specific PFAS compounds, ensuring that global users can meet the regulatory standards of different markets.

The high-performing material also adopts a green chemistry technology, which (according to Systemiq 2022) results in 60% fewer carbon emissions in its manufacturing than existing petroleum-based products.