As regulators tighten standards and communities grow alarmed by rising PFAS pollution, water technology firm Gradiant, led by MIT-trained engineer Anurag Bajpayee, says its new platform doesn’t just remove these ‘forever chemicals’—it destroys them.
In the United States and around the world, awareness is rising about the unseen danger flowing through pipes, pooling in soils, and accumulating quietly in human bloodstreams. PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—have been called “forever chemicals” for good reason: they do not degrade naturally, resist heat, water, and oil, and linger in the environment for decades. Linked to cancer, immune dysfunction, and developmental delays, PFAS compounds are present in everything from non-stick pans to firefighting foam. And now, they’re in drinking water.
Enter Anurag Bajpayee
A mechanical engineer by training and CEO of Boston-based water technology company Gradiant, Bajpayee has been working for years on how to eliminate PFAS at the source—not just filter them, but obliterate them. His company’s new technology, called ForeverGone, has just been awarded the 2025 Edison Gold Award for its innovation, effectiveness, and potential to address a growing public health emergency.
“The goal wasn’t to move the PFAS problem—it was to erase it,” Anurag Bajpayee said after accepting the award in Fort Myers, Florida. “That’s what ForeverGone delivers.”
A Silent Crisis Meets Scalable Science
PFAS contamination is no longer a fringe concern. The US Environmental Protection Agency is finalising new national limits on PFAS levels in drinking water and wastewater. In Europe, bans on PFAS in consumer goods are gaining traction. At airports, fire training sites, and industrial zones, regulators are scrambling to contain—and ideally eliminate—PFAS contamination.
Yet the available tools have fallen short. Most existing treatment systems simply remove PFAS from water and then create a second problem: highly concentrated PFAS waste, which is either shipped across the country for incineration or buried in special landfills. Both methods are energy-intensive, expensive, and raise serious ethical questions about exporting environmental risk from one community to another.
Gradiant’s ForeverGone system, by contrast, destroys PFAS molecules entirely at the treatment site—leaving behind only clean water and inert byproducts. The technology integrates with Gradiant’s existing AI-powered platforms to optimise energy efficiency and adapt in real time to water chemistry changes.
It is, as the Edison Awards noted, not only inventive—but necessary.
Born in the Lab, Built for the Field
ForeverGone wasn’t conjured in response to headlines. It’s the product of years of research and development inside Gradiant’s labs, drawing on the company’s experience from over 3,000 projects in more than 90 countries. That field-tested insight informed the design of a destruction system that is not just scientifically robust—but ready to deploy.
Already, ForeverGone is being used in sectors where PFAS contamination is endemic: semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, refining, and landfill remediation. It’s also gaining traction among municipal water utilities and environmental cleanup firms.
The technology’s key advantage lies in its adaptability. Unlike many systems that require expensive, large-scale infrastructure, ForeverGone is modular and scalable, making it suitable for both small community treatment plants and sprawling industrial facilities.
From MIT to Global Impact
Anurag Bajpayee’s path to the heart of one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges began far from the corridors of power or industry.
After studying mechanical engineering at the University of Missouri and completing a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Bajpayee co-founded Gradiant in 2013 with fellow MIT alumnus Prakash Govindan. What began as a startup focused on desalination has evolved into one of the world’s most advanced water technology platforms, providing services to Fortune 500 companies and public utilities alike.
Gradiant’s broader portfolio includes innovations like Counterflow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO) for zero-liquid discharge and SmartOps AI, an AI engine that oversees water plant operations with real-time optimization. These systems have earned the company accolades from TIME, CNBC, and Fast Company. The Edison Gold marks another milestone—but for Bajpayee, it’s just the beginning.
“This award is validation—but also motivation,” he said. “PFAS is just one part of a much bigger challenge. And we’re building the toolkit to solve it.”
Why PFAS Is a Sustainability Issue, Not Just a Health One
PFAS pollution is typically discussed in terms of water contamination. But its impact goes far deeper. In agriculture, PFAS-laced biosolids have leached into farmland, prompting crop bans and lawsuits. In industry, PFAS in waste streams can inhibit water reuse and complicate compliance. In landfills, PFAS compounds leach into aquifers.
All of these have sustainability implications: higher water withdrawals, heavier carbon footprints from treatment, and mounting waste burdens. With climate resilience now central to industrial planning, PFAS mitigation is moving up the priority list.
“ForeverGone isn’t just a chemical solution—it’s a climate and supply chain solution,” said one Gradiant engineer. “If you want circular water systems, you can’t just move the pollution. You have to end it.”
A Moment for Action
The Edison Award arrives at a time of high urgency. Lawsuits over PFAS exposure are mounting. Shareholder pressure on polluting companies is growing. And governments are being forced to confront a class of chemicals that are present in thousands of consumer products but persist long after their usefulness ends.
For Anurag Bajpayee and his team, the recognition offers a platform—but also a challenge.
Gradiant is already ramping up production of ForeverGone systems, expanding its partner network, and working with regulators to accelerate permitting and certification. The company is also investing in regional manufacturing to meet demand in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, and forging new public-private partnerships to bring the solution into military, municipal, and emergency contexts.
A Closing Word—and an Opening
For all the technical sophistication behind ForeverGone, what makes the project resonate is its clarity of purpose: destroy PFAS where it forms, without adding new burdens. In an industry often mired in slow cycles and partial solutions, Gradiant’s direct, scalable approach stands out.
It’s also a rare example of climate-tech that is both immediately useful and commercially viable. As public anger over environmental injustice grows, and as communities demand not just acknowledgement but action, platforms like ForeverGone suggest that the tools for meaningful change may already exist—if we’re ready to use them.
PFAS may be built to last forever. But with engineers like Anurag Bajpayee, and with companies like Gradiant, the future may be less toxic than the past.
This content is brought to you by the FingerLakes1.com Team. Support our mission by visiting www.patreon.com/fl1 or learn how you send us your local content here.