Morgan Stanley award $250,000 prize and a year-long partnership to PFAS removal specialists

Puraffinity, who are globally renowned for developing highly advanced technology for removing PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) or ‘forever chemicals’ from a variety of water treatment applications, has been awarded $250,000 by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing. In addition, Puraffinity will enjoy a year long collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Investing to assist them in growing and scaling up their cutting-edge solution.

Puraffinity, are focused on tackling the human health and environmental challenges of PFAS; the company has developed a range of adsorbent materials which provide high selectivity towards various PFAS compounds. These materials offer solutions for multiple applications; Puraffinity has set itself a target to provide one billion people with PFAS-safe water by the end of the decade.

Jessica Alsford, Morgan Stanley’s Chief Sustainability Officer and CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Investing commented, “To tackle complex sustainability challenges, we need to advance innovative solutions. Puraffinity’s novel low-carbon green chemistry approach to dealing with ‘forever chemical’ contaminants allows for PFAS capture and the reusing of their adsorbent material.”

Puraffinity’s recently raised$13.9m in Series A funding. Both the fundraising and the Morgan Stanly award win will enable them to scale up operations, transitioning from a R&D focused organisation to becoming a complete commercial entity. Puraffinity are also planning to expand its organisational structure, increasing staffing from 25 to 40 employees by the end of 2024.

“Aligning ourselves with tier 1 companies like Morgan Stanley will be a key accelerant of our mission towards addressing the PFAS challenge,” stated Puraffinity’s CEO Henrik Hagemann.  “Beyond the positive impact of securing the award, we are thrilled about the mentorship within the programme and the opportunity to tap into the collaborative to scale up our solutions that tackles one of the critical challenges of our time.”