Water Illumination Receives NSF and EPA SBIR Phase I Awards to Advance UV-Based PFAS Destruction for Groundwater & Wastewater
Riverside, California — January 2024
Water Illumination Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been awarded two Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to further develop its UV-based PFAS destruction technology for both groundwater and wastewater applications.
The EPA SBIR Phase I award ($100,000) focuses on a proof-of-concept study for PFAS destruction in saline wastewater, aiming to establish the foundational effectiveness of the company’s technology in complex, high-ionic-strength environments. The NSF SBIR Phase I award ($275,000) supports the development of PFAS destruction technology for drinking water applications, including the design of a small flow-through UV reactor to demonstrate scalability and utility in municipal and field-deployable systems.
These dual awards represent national-level recognition of Water Illumination’s innovative approach to PFAS destruction—moving beyond capture and separation to achieve true molecular breakdown without producing secondary waste or harmful byproducts.
Water Illumination’s patented platform employs a UV-based process, operating at wavelengths below 230 nanometers, to generate highly reactive species such as hydrated electrons directly in water. It is a clean and chemical-free method that utilizes water itself as the catalyst and produces no harmful byproducts. These reactive species attack the strong carbon–fluorine bonds in PFAS molecules, converting them into harmless fluoride ions. The process operates under ambient temperature and pressure and is naturally enhanced by common water constituents, such as chloride and sulfate, which further accelerate PFAS degradation.
Through these SBIR grants, the company will refine its photochemical reaction kinetics, optimize reactor optics and flow design, and conduct laboratory-scale demonstrations under representative water conditions. The ultimate goal is to scale the technology toward field pilots for both groundwater and wastewater treatment applications.
The dual NSF and EPA Phase I awards strengthen Water Illumination’s foundation for next-stage (Phase II) development and reinforce its mission to deploy scalable, chemical-free PFAS destruction solutions for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and environmental remediation sectors.
About Water Illumination
Water Illumination Inc. develops rapid, affordable, and scalable UV-based PFAS destruction systems for municipal, industrial, defense, and agricultural water treatment. Founded as a University of California, Riverside spin-off, the company’s patented technology utilizes deep UV-reduction processes to break down PFAS compounds into harmless end-products—offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to conventional removal methods.