Today, Zurich-based Oxyle announced a €15.3 million funding round to scale its ClimateTech solution to “destroy, not just relocate” Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) pollutants from wastewater.
The seed round was led by 360 Capital, with participation from Axeleo Capital and returning investors Founderful and SOSV.
This builds on its €2.8 million pre-Seed round in 2022, raising its total funding to €25 million, including additional non-dilutive funding from grants and awards.
“Five years ago, Oxyle was two of us founders and one big idea: get rid of forever chemicals from our water. Today, that idea is proven, implemented, and ready to scale. This funding is a game-changer. It gives us what we need to take our technology to the industries and communities that need it most. To our investors, old and new, thank you for joining us on this mission to make clean water a reality for all,” said Dr. Fajer Mushtaq, CEO & Co-founder, Oxyle.
When Dr Mushtaq turned on the tap as a child in Delhi, one question always loomed: was the water safe? Today, that same question haunts communities worldwide as PFAS — toxic ‘forever chemicals’ used in everything from non-stick pans to firefighting foam — contaminate water supplies at an alarming rate.
A 2024 briefing by the European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights the pervasive issue of PFAS contamination in European waters. Monitoring data from 2018 to 2022 indicate that perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a common PFAS compound, frequently exceeds regulatory thresholds designed to protect human health and the environment. Specifically, 51-60% of rivers, 11-35% of lakes, and 47-100% of transitional and coastal waters surpassed the annual average environmental quality standards for PFOS during this period. This widespread contamination poses a significant challenge to the EU’s goal of achieving a toxic-free environment and attaining good chemical status for Europe’s water bodies by 2027
Founded in 2020 by Dr Mushtaq and Silvan Staufert, Oxyle is the “world’s first economical, sustainable, and permanent answer to PFAS contamination“. Their PFAS catalytic destruction technology empowers industrial and environmental remediation companies in their fight against PFAS.
In four years, the duo have guided Oxyle from innovation to implementation. The company has grown to a team of 26 and completed over 20 customer projects. With revenue-generating customer pilots under its belt and its first commercial installation operational, Oxyle is now securing multiple-year treatment contracts for 2025 and beyond.
Oxyle claims to not just filter or adsorb PFAS, but to eliminate them entirely to below detection limits. With a reported 15x lower average energy consumption than other destructive treatments and a 99% elimination rate, it looks to be the most energy efficient, cost effective treatment on the market.
According to Oxyle, industries have long struggled with PFAS treatment. Current methods like filtration and adsorption merely move PFAS from water to other waste streams, requiring expensive incineration or landfilling that risks these chemicals leaching back into the environment through air or soil – creating an endless cycle of contamination.
While some technologies can destroy PFAS, their energy requirements can make them financially impractical for organisations to implement at scale.
Oxyle’s three-stage process combines foam fractionation, catalytic destruction, and real-time monitoring powered by machine learning – all housed in a modular system that eliminates the need for secondary waste disposal through incineration or landfilling.
Whereas alternatives require weeks-long lab analysis, Oxyle’s proprietary monitoring system provides instant feedback and continuous treatment optimisation.
The technology’s effectiveness has been proven across multiple applications. In groundwater treatment, it reportedly reduces PFAS concentrations from 8,700 ng/l to below 14 ng/l. For soil wash water, it achieves 99.8% removal of 11 different PFAS species. It eliminated 98% of short-chain PFAS and reduced trifluoracetic acid (TFA) concentrations by 96% in trials with an industrial customer.
Most significantly, in November 2024, Oxyle deployed its first full-scale system in Switzerland, treating 10 cubic meters of contaminated groundwater per hour at less than 1 kWh/m³.
“We are proud to lead the investment in Oxyle, whose pioneering technology addresses the massive global challenge of PFAS pollution,” says Thomas Nivard, Partner at 360 Capital. “Unlike traditional methods that merely contain these harmful chemicals, Oxyle’s solution destroys them permanently, setting a new standard for tackling this urgent environmental crisis. This is a game changer. The team’s exceptional commercial and technical momentum has laid a strong foundation for establishing a true technology leader in the coming years.”
According to Oxyle, stricter regulations in both the EU and U.S. are increasing demand for advanced treatment technologies that can ensure compliance and minimise liability. New data from the Forever Lobbying Project details the cost of inaction—cleaning up Europe’s soil and water from PFAS contamination could cost €100 billion per year, totalling €2 trillion over the next 20 years.
Looking ahead, Oxyle aims to treat 100 million liters of contaminated water in the next five years. The company plans to expand its solution across industries, from chemical and consumer goods manufacturing to semiconductor production and municipal water treatment.