London-based Puraffinity, a startup developing technologies to remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, announced on Tuesday that it has secured £6.73M (approximately €7.9M) in new investment from BGF.
BGF’s investment completes Puraffinity’s £16.93M (approximately €20M) 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 the UK company to scale up production of its patented, PFAS-capturing material — Puratech. The funding will also support the company’s work developing fresh commercial applications that use Puraffinity’s patented materials.
Appoints Vincent Caillaud as new CEO
Besides funding, the company also announced the appointment of Vincent Caillaud as its new CEO.
Vincent Caillaud has over 20 years of industry experience in the water sector and previously served as the CEO of Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions, a global water technology business unit within Veolia, one of the largest water, energy, and waste management companies worldwide.
The purpose of appointing Vincent Caillaud as Chief Executive Officer is to improve market access for the technology. This will allow Puraffinity’s founder, Henrik Hagemann, to focus on furthering the company’s technological advantage as Chief Product and Innovation Officer.
Vincent Caillaud, CEO of Puraffinity, says, “At Puraffinity, we are delighted to join BGF’s growing network of climate tech startups as the company continues on its mission of providing PFAS-safe water to the world. With BGF’s expertise in helping startups in breakthrough technologies achieve transformational growth, we look forward to meaningfully expanding our commercial capability and extending the global reach of our patented PFAS-removal solutions.”
Puraffinity: Removing “forever chemicals”
Founded in 2015 by Henrik Hagemann & Gabi Santosa and spun out of Imperial College London, Puraffinity develops precision technology for the removal of PFAS “forever chemicals” across multiple water treatment applications.
Developed in the 1940s, PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they are resistant to water, grease, and oil, making them difficult to destroy.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences estimates that 97 per cent of people have PFAS in their bodies, as these chemicals have entered water supplies worldwide.
The company’s precision technologies place it at the forefront of the fight against PFAS, which have been linked to multiple health issues, including cancer.
Puratech, Puraffinity’s developed adsorbent media, can be applied across use cases. 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.
Henrik Hagemann, founder and Chief Product & Innovation Officer at Puraffinity, says, “Attracting such a respected water industry figure as Vincent, alongside investment from BGF, underlines not only the progress Puraffinity has already made but the incredible potential of the business. The new management structure will allow me to focus on accelerating our existing technologies and developing new product roadmaps, confident that Puraffinity’s business development is assured with Vincent as CEO.”
The investor
To date, BGF has invested £4B in over 600 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK.
BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs.
BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 15 offices.
Luke Rajah, the investor at BGF, said: “Puraffinity is well-positioned to fulfil its vision of bringing PFAS-safe water to one billion people by 2030. BGF is thrilled to work with Puraffinity as it enters a new phase of rapid, global growth, taking a meaningful step towards enhancing water safety. BGF has developed a strong reputation for identifying and providing early-stage support for companies creating technologies which not only have huge potential but offer huge societal benefits.”
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