About VAERA

Pure Water. Pure Being.

VAERA is a pre-commercial initiative for destructive treatment of PFAS and other persistent pollutants in water. Others move pollution. We destroy it.

What is VAERA?

VAERA works on breaking down PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals, and other persistent substances in water instead of moving them somewhere else. Our aim is to help our customers meet their requirements and return clean water to nature.

What does destructive treatment mean?

Most water treatment today separates pollutants from the water. Activated carbon, ion exchange and membranes capture PFAS and other persistent substances, but the substances remain in spent filters, concentrates or sludge that must then be handled, transported or incinerated. Destructive treatment aims to break the molecules down in the water itself, so the pollution is not simply moved to a new waste stream. This is the category of treatment VAERA focuses on.

From sustainable to regenerative

Sustainability in water has mostly meant doing less harm: using less energy and fewer chemicals, and staying within the limits. Regenerative thinking asks for more: helping natural systems recover, so the water cycle is left healthier than we found it.

Persistent substances are where the difference shows. PFAS do not break down in nature, and when they are only moved to filters, concentrates, sludge or a landfill, they can find their way back into soil, groundwater and rivers. Destroying them, rather than moving them, is one of the preconditions for the water cycle to recover, alongside stopping new emissions at the source. That is the contribution VAERA works towards.

Which water?

Persistent substances turn up in many kinds of water. VAERA works with, among others:

• landfill leachate
• industrial wastewater
• municipal wastewater (the fourth treatment stage)
• pumped groundwater from remediation
• raw water for drinking water

Who is it for?

Everyone who discharges water to nature and needs to remove PFAS and other persistent substances from it: water utilities and wastewater treatment plants, industry, and owners of landfills and contaminated sites. And the authorities who set the requirements.

Who is behind VAERA?

VAERA is an international group of experts and innovators in water treatment, environmental regulation and technology, working together on destructive treatment of persistent pollutants in water.

What does the name mean?

VAERA is pronounced like the Danish være, to be. To be water. The name carries four layers:

• vann, the Nordic word for water;
• aera, Latin for air, where pollution disappears into clear air;
• era, a new era without moving waste;
• at være, Danish for to be: clean water as a precondition for life.