374Water is pioneering breakthrough technology to eliminate PFAS contamination from our water supplies and build a cleaner, safer future.
If you’ve never heard of PFAS, you’re not alone, but you’ve almost certainly ingested them. These ‘forever chemicals’ are found in thousands of everyday products – nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, even the food wrappers in your takeout. Worse yet, they’re in our drinking water, and they don’t break down.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances are one of the greatest environmental and public health challenges of our time. Linked to cancer, immune system dysfunction, and reproductive harm, they’re now detectable in the blood of 98% of Americans. They resist heat, water, oil, and, unfortunately, nearly every traditional method of water treatment.
We can’t solve a 21st-century problem with 20th-century tools
Today’s water infrastructure wasn’t designed for PFAS contamination. Most municipal systems rely on filtration, chemical treatment, or dilution – methods that are simply ineffective at removing or destroying these compounds. At best, some PFAS can be filtered out. At worst, they’re just moved from one place to another – into a landfill, for example – where they leach back into the environment.
The hard truth? Conventional solutions don’t destroy PFAS. And unless we destroy them, they’ll keep cycling through our soil, water, and bodies indefinitely.
Innovation isn’t optional – it’s essential
Innovation is often talked about in terms of disruption, scale, or market advantage. But when it comes to water, innovation is a moral imperative. We must move beyond mitigation to full destruction.
One promising technology already gaining ground is supercritical water oxidation (SCWO). Without getting overly technical, this process uses high pressure and temperature to transform water into a state where it becomes a powerful oxidiser. When applied to PFAS-contaminated waste, SCWO breaks the carbon-fluorine bonds – some of the strongest known in chemistry – and leaves behind nothing but clean water, CO₂, and inert salts. It doesn’t move the problem. It ends it.
At 374Water, we’re designing for the future
Our company is built on a simple but urgent idea: to create infrastructure that protects both people and the planet. Our AirSCWO™ systems are modular, self-sustaining, and capable of handling not just PFAS but also other complex contaminants in sewage sludge, industrial waste, and landfill leachate. These are plug-and-play systems designed to integrate into the built environment, from urban utilities to remote military bases.
We’ve already deployed units in collaboration with municipalities and industrial clients who are looking for permanent, responsible solutions to an escalating problem.
Solving the PFAS crisis requires collaboration
No single company or technology can solve the PFAS contamination crisis alone. We need shared urgency, bold regulation, and creative partnerships between government, industry, and innovation leaders. We must ensure that breakthrough solutions reach not only well-funded communities but also the marginalised and underserved populations who are often hit hardest by environmental threats.
As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advances the first-ever enforceable limits on PFAS in drinking water, the demand for effective treatment will skyrocket. This is not just a moment for innovation. It’s a moment that demands it.
Toward a PFAS-free future
At 374Water, we believe the solutions to our most pressing environmental problems already exist—we just need the will to implement them. PFAS are often called forever chemicals, but they don’t have to be forever in our water. By embracing innovation, we can finally break down what was once thought indestructible – and build a cleaner, safer future in its place.
Please note, this article will also appear in the 23rd edition of our quarterly publication.
