Puraffinity, which develops precision technology for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ‘forever chemicals’ across multiple water treatment applications, has raised $13.9m in Series A funding. The round was led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from existing investors Kindred Capital, HG Ventures, Verve Ventures and Acequia Capital. Materials science sector specialist fund Universal Materials Incubator (UMI) also joined the round.
This investment is said to allow Puraffinity to scale up its operations, transitioning from a R&D focused organisation to being a full commercial entity. Puraffinity will invest in manufacturing, accelerate its commercial business and strengthen its R&D capabilities to develop new products. Additionally, £700,000 was also invested from a new Investor Partnership grant by Innovate UK called Future Economy focused on net zero aligned companies. The fundraise will also allow the company to grow its team from 20 to more than 40 and build out its IP base with a growing portfolio.
With Puraffinity’s aim to provide one billion people with PFAS-free water by 2030, its CEO Henrik Hagemann said, “There is no time to waste in dealing with the ‘forever chemical’ contaminants that have population-wide health implications.”
In a statement, Owen Metters from Octopus Ventures said that the company’s scalable adsorbent material is applicable in both industrial and domestic settings.
PFAS has approximately 9,000 different human-made compounds. For over 60 years, PFAS were used in the manufacturing of many products which led to their widespread release into the environment. The properties of PFAS makes them resistant to natural degradation as they are hard to treat and, in many cases, conventional technologies cannot meet removal demands. PFAS has health effects, such as cancer and compromised immune responses.
