Change Makers 2026 Takes Aim at Forever Chemicals

The RSC's 2026 Change Makers cohort puts institutional muscle behind the race to destroy Europe's forever chemicals

20 May 2026

The Royal Society of Chemistry has directed its 2026 Change Makers accelerator cohort entirely toward PFAS innovation, placing the UK's leading chemistry institution at the centre of the push to eliminate persistent pollutants from drinking water and the wider environment.

Change Makers backs deep-tech chemistry ventures with mentoring, market-entry support, and investment facilitation. For the first time, the programme is targeting a single global challenge. A dedicated Spotlight Prize of £2,000 sits within the Emerging Technologies Competition's broader £50,000 prize pool.

One existing participant, Mantisonix, illustrates what the cohort is designed to produce. The company uses high-frequency ultrasound to break down PFAS molecules in water without chemical additives or secondary waste. The technique, known as sonolysis, contrasts with granular activated carbon and ion exchange, the dominant treatment methods across European utilities, which capture PFAS but do not destroy them. Operators are left with spent material that must be transported and disposed of under tightening regulatory criteria. Sonolysis eliminates that problem on site.

Regulatory pressure is rising. EU Drinking Water Directive limits now impose binding PFAS thresholds on utilities across the continent. RSC research found nine in ten UK residents want PFAS controlled in food, drinking water, and the environment.

The programme has clear limits. Competition prizes and peer networks do not automatically translate into commercial deployment. Most cohort members will still need to cross the capital funding bridge independently. Change Makers offers a pathway, not a guarantee. What it does provide is market validation at the moment when early-stage ventures find third-party investment hardest to attract.

Whether the 2026 cohort produces the treatment infrastructure Europe's water sector needs for the decade ahead remains an open question.