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Claros Reaches Full-Scale Commercial Deployment
PORTFOLIO NEWS · OCTOBER 2026
Claros Reaches Full-Scale Commercial Deployment
A long-term commercial agreement with Daikin America for full-scale PFAS destruction
 |  First full-scale commercial deployment ClarosTechUV™ · Decatur, Alabama |
Full-Scale Long-term commercial deployment, integrated directly into Daikin’s manufacturing operations | 99.99% Of target PFAS species destroyed, including ultra-short-chain compounds like TFA | 10 months From pilot (Dec 2025) to agreement for full commercial deployment (Oct 2026) |
Dear Groundswell Community,
We're excited to share a significant commercial milestone from our portfolio company Claros Technologies: this week, Claros announced a commercial agreement for full-scale deployment of its patented ClarosTechUV™ PFAS destruction system at Daikin America's specialty chemical manufacturing facility in Decatur, Alabama. The system moves from a pilot to permanent infrastructure, built into Daikin's plant. This is Claros' first full-scale commercial deployment, and proof customers trust the technology to hold up at industrial scale over the long term.
WHY PFAS DESTRUCTION MATTERS
PFAS are synthetic chemicals used throughout industry for their resistance to heat, water, and oil. Known as "forever chemicals," they are toxic at low levels and nearly impossible to get rid of. Their carbon-fluorine bonds do not break down in nature, so once released, often through manufacturing waste streams, these toxic chemicals build up in water, soil, and the human body over time. As regulations tighten, industries need solutions that eliminate PFAS rather than relocate it, the approach used until now. Claros' ClarosTechUV™ system uses a UV photochemical process to permanently break those bonds instead, destroying PFAS during normal operations rather than shipping it elsewhere for disposal. By integrating Claros’ technology, Daikin America will have assurance they are not releasing PFAS into their wastestreams and the natural environment.
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WHY THE DAIKIN DEPLOYMENT MATTERS
ClarosTechUV™ will be built directly into Daikin's manufacturing facility as permanent plant infrastructure. The agreement opens the door to further deployments across Daikin's global operations, and it shows that a major industrial manufacturer trusts Claros' technology for long-term use. CEO Michelle Bellanca called it "the defining commercial achievement in Claros' history." |
ALSO THIS QUARTER: FIRST PHARMA PILOT
In September, Claros completed a successful commercial-scale pilot at Bachem AG's manufacturing campus in Bubendorf, Switzerland. This was Claros' first pilot with a pharmaceutical manufacturer and its latest expansion into Europe. Over two weeks of testing under real-world conditions, the system met or exceeded Bachem's performance metrics for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), an ultra-short-chain PFAS compound that's notoriously difficult to capture with conventional treatment.
COMMERCIAL MOMENTUM
DEC 2025 | Industrial pilot with Daikin America at their Alabama facility |
APR 2026 | Proof of groundwater remediation concentrate at a Minnesota Pollution Control Agency site in Lake Elmo. |
JUL 2026 | Claros closed a $55 million Series B financing round. |
SEP 2026 | Successful commercial-scale pilot at Bachem AG in Bubendorf, Switzerland. |
SEP 2026 | |
OCT 2026 | Commercial agreement for full-scale deployment at Daikin America’s Decatur, Alabama facility. |
We're proud that Groundswell invested in Claros across two funds since its seed stage. We look forward to continuing to partner with Michelle Bellanca and the entire team as the technology moves from pilots into permanent commercial infrastructure. As always, we welcome your thoughts and questions.
All the best,
Jeremy
Groundswell Ventures, LLC, 1240 Bergen Parkway, Evergreen, CO 80439, USA
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