Sweden: Cleantech company Chromafora to tackle widespread chemical pollution with €22.5 million EU backing

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• Swedish environmental-technology company Chromafora receives €22.5 million EIB loan to advance technology for removing “forever chemicals” from water
• Funding to support development and commercialisation of technique to tackle widespread pollutants known as PFAS
• Project aligns with InvestEU’s priority for clean water and EU environmental-sustainability goals

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €22.5 million non-dilutive financing to Chromafora, a Swedish cleantech company, to step up Europe’s fight against widespread pollutants known as “forever chemicals”. Chromafora will use the loan to advance a technology for removing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – or PFAS – from water.

The credit from the EIB, the European Union’s lending arm, will support the development and deployment by Chromafora of water-treatment units at sites across Europe between 2024 and 2028.

PFAS are highly persistent and have been detected in water, soil and food across Europe, creating a serious environmental challenge. PFAS contamination poses significant risks to human health, with long-term exposure linked to cancer, decreased fertility and developmental disorders.

“This operation highlights our commitment to supporting clean-water technologies that benefit both the environment and public health,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “Chromafora’s innovation addresses a critical challenge while contributing to Europe’s transition to sustainable water systems.”

Chromafora’s technology, known as SELPAXT, combines advanced filtration with proprietary chemical processes to remove PFAS, including the short-chain variants that are particularly difficult to treat. The company has devised compact, container-based water-treatment systems that are designed for quick deployment and that will serve primarily industrial customers such as landfill operators in Belgium, Sweden and other European markets.

The EIB loan takes the form of venture debt, a relatively flexible form of financing aimed at supporting company growth without diluting ownership. Chromafora, founded in 2010, is seeking to bridge a funding gap to full commercialisation, expand its reach and attract further investment.

“The EIB loan is a fantastic verification of our technology, as well as an enabler for faster expansion in Europe,” said Chromafora CEO Johan Seijmer. “In addition to Sweden, we have already established units in Belgium and will soon also establish in more European markets. In both these countries and the neighboring ones, there is a high demand for treating wastewater from PFAS.”

The financing is backed by InvestEU and aligns with EU laws on water quality and pollution control, supporting the European Green Deal and transition to a circular economy.

Background information

EIB Group

The EIB finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of €88 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2023. These commitments are expected to mobilise around €320 billion in investment, supporting 400 000 companies and 5.4 million jobs.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Accord. The EIB Group does not fund investments in fossil fuels. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to support €1 trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Over half of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

The EIB Group signed nearly €3 billion in financing for 32 projects in Sweden last year, a record high, with more than three quarters of these commitments channelled to climate action and environmental sustainability investments. For more details about our projects in Sweden and their impact, please visit our country page for Sweden.

Chromafora

Chromafora is an innovative cleantech company with unique patented and patent-pending water treatment technologies based on proprietary chemistry: SELPAXT and SELMEXT. Both technologies focus on removing contaminants while reducing waste through selectivity. SELMEXT targets the removal of heavy metals, while SELPAXT eliminates both short- and long-chain PFAS substances from water streams. The SELMEXT process also contributes to the conservation of critical raw materials by enabling the recovery and recycling of valuable metals, such as gold and other precious resources, from waste.

About SELPAXT

The PFAS removal efficiency of the SELPAXT technology has been confirmed in studies conducted by the research institute RISE and through evaluations at a number of landfill sites. Results show that SELPAXT removes over 90% of both long and, otherwise difficult-to-capture, short PFAS chains from water. The removal process usually occurs upstream, before PFAS contamination reaches water bodies. The SELPAXT technology combines ultrafiltration with proprietary chemical processes, making it particularly well suited for complex water streams with high PFAS concentrations.