PFAROS is a new European research and innovation initiative launched to address environmental emissions and exposure concerns related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors.
As part of the project, IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A., EURONEXT) will co-lead the work on end-of-life and waste-management technologies, bringing its electron beam and Rhodotron® expertise to the assessment of PFAS destruction solutions.
A new European research and innovation initiative, PFAROS, brings together a large consortium of 91 European and international partners from industry, academia, healthcare, regulatory bodies, and civil society.
By combining complementary expertise across disciplines and sectors, the project seeks to research and assess opportunities to reduce PFAS emissions across the life cycle of medical products and applications, including waste management, while ensuring effectiveness, quality, safety, and continuity in essential healthcare product life cycles.
Funded under the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU), PFAROS is fully aligned with European Union public health, environmental, and industrial policy objectives.
IBA’s role in PFAS destruction
As part of PFAROS, the University of Gent will act as the academic leader of the initiative while IBA and Bayer will co-lead the work on end-of-life and waste-management technologies. IBA will focus on assessing the potential of its electron beam and Rhodotron® technology for PFAS destruction. This work will be carried out on healthcare and pharma-related samples, supporting PFAROS’ ambition to evaluate practical pathways to reduce PFAS-related environmental impact where technically and clinically feasible.
IBA, through its innovation hub Discovery Lab, will test, develop and benchmark technologies for PFAS removal and destruction from hospital and pharmaceutical wastewater, targeting long-, short- and ultrashort-chain PFAS. It will also evaluate pre-concentration, polishing and advanced destruction processes, with the objective of supporting full PFAS mineralization and by-product control. IBA’s contribution builds on its expertise in high-power electron beam technologies and its long-standing experience in developing accelerator-based solutions for industrial and healthcare applications.
For solid materials, PFAROS will assess both thermal and non-thermal methods to support reuse where feasible and reduce environmental exposure through fluorine containment. Where recovery is not possible, mineralization will be explored through several complementary approaches, including pyrolysis, gasification, electron beam and plasma treatments. Lab-scale testing, together with the evaluation of sorting technologies and mechanical handling of healthcare waste, will help guide process design and identify the most promising integrated treatment trains in terms of scalability, environmental impact and regulatory compliance.
Supporting a more sustainable future for essential healthcare applications
Catherine Vandenborre, Chief Ventures & Corporate Officer, commented: “PFAROS is an important collaborative initiative to better understand how PFAS emissions and exposure concerns can be addressed across the healthcare and pharmaceutical value chains. IBA is pleased to bring its Discovery Lab and Rhodotron® combined expertise’s to the project, with a clear focus on end-of-life and waste-management solutions. By working alongside partners from industry, academia, healthcare and regulatory environments, we aim to contribute to the assessment of robust and scalable technologies that could support a more sustainable future for essential healthcare applications.”
Through this initiative, IBA further demonstrates its commitment to innovation in sustainable irradiation and environmental technologies, aligned with its mission to protect, enhance and save lives.
