Puraffinity

Puraffinity is a green technology company that develops and manufactures advanced materials to remove harmful pollutants from water. The company was founded in 2015 as a spin-out from Imperial College London by Henrik Hagemann and Gabi Santosa, who were Master's students in the Department of Bioengineering at the time. Their journey began after participating in a synthetic biology competition, which inspired them to apply principles from precision medicine to address environmental challenges. Their core focus is on removing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called 'forever chemicals', from water sources. Puraffinity has developed a proprietary product, Puratech®, which is a suite of customizable granular adsorbent media. Unlike non-selective conventional methods like activated carbon, Puratech's surface is engineered with molecular groups that selectively bind to a broad spectrum of PFAS compounds, including both short and long-chain variants. This allows for more efficient and reliable removal in complex water conditions, with a significantly smaller system footprint and faster contact times. Puraffinity markets its technology to a diverse client base that includes municipal water systems, industrial manufacturing, environmental remediation services, and military bases dealing with groundwater contamination. The business model involves selling its adsorbent media as a plug-in solution that can be retrofitted into existing water treatment infrastructure, providing a cost-effective way for clients to meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. In July 2025, the company signed its first commercial agreement for a full-scale deployment with Envytech Solutions. The company has secured significant funding to support its growth and transition from an R&D focus to a full commercial entity. Its Series A funding round, which completed in September 2024, totaled £16.93 million, with investments from BGF, Octopus Ventures, HG Ventures, Kindred Capital, and others. Concurrent with the funding, water industry veteran Vincent Caillaud was appointed CEO to lead commercial expansion, while founder Henrik Hagemann transitioned to the role of Chief Product and Innovation Officer to focus on technology development. Keywords: PFAS removal, water treatment, adsorbent media, environmental technology, forever chemicals, Puratech, water purification, green technology, cleantech, material science, contaminant removal, groundwater remediation, industrial wastewater, drinking water safety, hazardous waste treatment, PFOA, PFOS, sustainable materials, environmental engineering, Henrik Hagemann, Imperial College London spin-out, water filtration