PFAS sensing, Ecolab’s big bet and playmakers: the signals to watch
PFAS sensing is heating up—but still waiting for a true breakthrough. Dr. Kim Wu joins to explore a market set to hit $480M by 2026, with field-based sensors potentially swelling to $750M by 2030. Demand is surging, regulations are tightening, yet no real-time solution exists. Kim points to electrochemical sensing paired with AI as the most promising pathway, while early players like Sense and Puri are racing prototypes into the field .The discussion then turns to one of the year’s biggest water deals: Ecolab’s $2.4B acquisition of Ovivo’s electronics division. More than a balance sheet move, it’s a play on ultrapure water for semiconductors and AI infrastructure. With a single fab consuming as much water annually as 17 million people, the deal solidifies Ecolab’s push into one of the most water-intensive growth arenas of the decade .Innovation is also bubbling up in patents. A standout this month: USP Technologies’ filing for coagulants derived from drinking water treatment residuals—repurposing waste streams into circular solutions for sewer biofilm control and clarification. A reminder that incumbents too are finding fresh ways to close the loop .Looking ahead, Lily Chen lays out a packed second half. Screenings of Our Blue World stretch from Dubai to Philadelphia, Ghent, and Osaka. BlueTech Unplugged teams up with Apple in New York and Vortex in Dubai. September also brings web briefings on PFAS sensing, the launch of a mini-series with Lux Research, WEFTEC’s Innovation Pavilion, and the reveal of BlueTech’s new website.Join us for the following briefings:10th September: Web Briefing PFAS Sensing. Register here30th September: Breakfast Briefing at WEFTEC in Chicago. Register here--Presented by BlueTech Research®, Actionable Water Technology Market Intelligence. Watch the trailer of Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey. Get involved, and learn more on the website: braveblue.world
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Potable reuse goes global. And Political.
BlueTech's TAG expert Dr. Sebastien Tillman joins Rhys and Divya to unpack a wave of projects in places as unexpected as Belgium and the UK, challenging the “it rains here” mindset. The driver? Not just technology, but trust. Public outreach remains the decisive factor between a flagship success and a stalled proposal.The long-standing “RO is the gold standard” stance is giving way to new thinking. Carbon-based advanced treatment – using ozone and biological activated carbon – is gaining ground as a safe, effective alternative, with several US states writing it into regulation. The shift signals a maturing market where water quality, cost, and scalability share the stage. Potable reuse is emerging as both a trust benchmark in science and infrastructure and a pragmatic, bipartisan solution – embraced in blue California and red Texas alike.Sebastien points to Spain as the ultimate flagship opportunity: a water-stressed nation currently prohibiting direct potable reuse, where overturning regulatory barriers could set a powerful global precedent. He sketches three likely future models for reuse – high-quality defacto reuse in wet regions, desalination-plus-reuse for arid agricultural economies, and direct potable reuse for water-scarce urban centers – and offers C-suite strategies from R&D priorities to acquisition opportunities.Also in this episode: AI’s leap from analytics to action. Emerson’s Ovation Virtual Advisor offers utilities an on-call digital operations guru; H2OK Innovations raises $12.4M to scale AI-driven inline spectral sensors; CASPR AI accelerates materials R&D timelines from decades to years. In patents, Evoqua claims PFAS destruction via plasma at the air–water interface with nano bubbles – an emerging technology to watch.Coming up: our PFAS Sensing Technologies report and web briefing, the WEFTEC Top 100 Abstracts review, the BlueTech Client Breakfast Briefing in Chicago, and a deep dive on graywater recycling regulations.--Presented by BlueTech Research®, Actionable Water Technology Market Intelligence. Watch the trailer of Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey. Get involved, and learn more on the website: braveblue.world
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BlueTech’s summer stack: from Unicorns to PFAS, Plasma and more
Autonomous water plants are here—and 49 of them are already running in China, serving 17 million people with no one on-site. Dr. Kim Wu unpacks this jaw-dropping stat and what it signals for digital twins, smart networks, and the new edge of AI in water. She also flags the rise of low-power IoT and how cybersecurity is shifting from afterthought to core infrastructure need. Later, we welcome Dr. Rick Woodling, the newest member of BlueTech’s TAG team, dialing in from Hawaii. He’s keeping a close eye on next-gen RO, new moves in ZLD, and a massively under-discussed opportunity: recovering industrial acids before they go down the drain. From plasma PFAS treatment to additive manufacturing of ceramic membranes, this episode tracks where water innovation is moving fast—and where it’s still catching up.Join the web briefings and explore the full Horizon Scans:July 22 – Identifying the next water sector “Unicorn” technologies | Download Horizon ScanJuly 24 – Point-of-Use / Point-of-Entry Trends | Download Horizon ScanJuly 31 – Plasma Water Treatment: A Clear and Urgent Need | Download Horizon Scan--Presented by BlueTech Research®, Actionable Water Technology Market Intelligence. Watch the trailer of Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey. Get involved, and learn more on the website: braveblue.world
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