'Forever chemicals' can remain in water for years, but can a new UV technology finally destroy them? Here's how it works

Claros Technologies is an environmental technology company founded in 2018. Its CEO and co-founder is Michelle Bellanca. The company has developed a system called ClarosTechUV, which uses an enhanced UV-photochemical process to destroy PFAS in contaminated water. It is designed to break down the chemicals themselves. According to the company, the system uses high-intensity ultraviolet light combined with proprietary photochemical reagents.

The process targets the carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS compounds, which are responsible for their exceptional chemical stability. The company says its system can target long-chain, short-chain and ultra-short-chain PFAS. It is designed for industrial wastewater, groundwater and concentrated PFAS waste streams. The technology is intended to operate on-site and can be integrated into existing industrial wastewater treatment systems.

How does the UV system work?

Breaking the strong carbon-fluorine bonds allows the compounds to be transformed into simpler substances rather than remaining intact as persistent PFAS chemicals.


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The technology is designed to treat concentrated PFAS streams as well as high-volume industrial wastewater.

Claro says its system can destroy 99.99% of target PFAS species. It is designed to operate near standard temperature and pressure, rather than relying on extremely high-temperature treatment.

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Successful pilot at Swiss company Bachem

In September 2026, Claros announced the successful completion of a commercial-scale pilot of its ClarosTechUV at the manufacturing campus of Bachem AG in Bubendorf, Switzerland. Bachem specialises in the development and manufacture of peptides and oligonucleotide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

Its products include the active pharmaceutical ingredient used in GLP-1 medicines. The two companies conducted the pilot over two weeks under real-world manufacturing conditions.

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According to Claros, the system met or exceeded Bachem's established performance metrics for TFA during the testing period. The pilot generated operating data that will help inform the engineering and design of a commercial system.