The proposed EU PFAS ban is poised to reshape the membrane landscape, pulling PVDF into the regulatory crosshairs and forcing utilities, industrials and suppliers to rethink long-term planning. Rhys and Divya unpack what a universal restriction could mean for plant design, stranded-asset risk, supply-chain readiness and the accelerating push toward ceramic and other non-PFAS alternatives.

They also explore emerging PFAS destruction pathways, near-realtime sensing and the market signals defining this inflection point.

Dive deeper with BlueTech's PFAS Watch service, and register for the Water Innovation Town Hall on 4 December and the Ceramic Membranes briefing on 11 December.

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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

This episode spotlights three themes driving BlueTech’s current research cycle. Rhys and Divya open with the momentum behind ceramic membranes, ahead of the 11 December web briefing with Dr. Graham Pearce and the release of BlueTech’s Ceramic Membranes 2025 Update. Once a 2% niche, ceramics now claim ~10% of the market, lifted by cost reductions, flat-sheet formats, and the EU’s proposed PFAS restrictions that could phase out PVDF. With players like MetaWater, Sōbra, Stech, and Filtech expanding into wastewater and desalination, ceramics are shifting from premium to increasingly mainstream.

The episode then moves to BlueTech's Innovation Tracker, highlighting VBact, a 4.5/5 BlueTruffle-rated bacterial scanner offering real-time, AI-driven microbial monitoring at low operating cost. Already deployed in food and beverage, it stands out for continuous phenotypic fingerprinting—though regulatory acceptance remains the key barrier. A full report on bacterial monitoring systems lands next month.

Finally, the hosts examine Aurelius’ acquisition of Xylem’s international metering business, a move TAG experts describe as strategic refocusing. The divestment allows Xylem to double down on software, analytics, and digital twin partnerships, while Aurelius takes on a complex, hardware-heavy portfolio.

Together, these threads capture the technology, regulation, and market shifts framing BlueTech’s year-end research priorities

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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

Electrodialysis is making a comeback. Once niche, ED and EDR are being reinvented with smarter membranes, modular stack designs, and solar-powered operation. BlueTech Analyst Dr. Vishal Wagholikar joins Rhys and Divya to explore how these innovations could enable off-grid desalination, resource recovery, and low-cost acid and base generation.

The conversation then shifts to policy, with the proposed Advancing Water Reuse Act offering a 30% U.S. tax credit that could transform industrial reuse economics—boosting uptake among data centers, semiconductor plants, and utilities.

They close on lithium, spotlighting the UK’s first commercial DLE project and a Veolia patent targeting zero-liquid discharge and circular lithium recovery. Together, these stories reveal where technology, regulation, and resource security now intersect in water innovation.

Join us for the upcoming web briefings in November:

• 20 November: Transforming Nitrogen Management: From Cost to Opportunity
• 27th November: Ceramic Membranes: Market & Technology Update 2025

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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