BESIX Environment has joined LIFEDESTINY, a European LIFE-funded project that aims to develop and demonstrate a more sustainable treatment chain for PFAS-contaminated waste streams in Belgium. Coordinated by IBA, the four-year project brings together industrial, environmental and technology partners to test alternatives to conventional approaches such as landfill and incineration, with the longer-term ambition of supporting an industrial-scale PFAS treatment hub.
A new approach to PFAS-contaminated waste
PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals”, are highly persistent substances that can accumulate in soil, groundwater, ecosystems and industrial waste streams. Existing remediation methods often rely on containment, landfill or incineration. These approaches can be costly and energy-intensive, and they do not always offer a definitive solution to contamination.
LIFEDESTINY will test a complete treatment chain: separating PFAS from contaminated materials, concentrating the pollutants, destroying them, and assessing whether treated residues can be safely reused. The objective is to help move PFAS remediation beyond containment and towards practical solutions that can be deployed at industrial scale.
BESIX Environment’s role in scaling treatment solutions
As part of the Belgian consortium, BESIX Environment will contribute its expertise in water treatment, process integration and large-scale environmental works. Its role will be to help translate the different technologies into an operational treatment process that can be tested in real-life conditions and, ultimately, scaled up.
“PFAS remediation and destruction is one of the most complex environmental challenges facing industry and public authorities today. Through LIFEDESTINY, we want to help move from containment towards practical treatment solutions that can be deployed at scale,” says Adrien Theunissen, General Manager of BESIX Environment.
For BESIX Environment, joining LIFEDESTINY is a concrete step in its work to address complex environmental challenges with solutions that are technically robust, scalable and aligned with circular economy principles.
Supported by the European Union’s LIFE programme, LIFEDESTINY will run from September 2026 to August 2030. Beyond the demonstration phase, the consortium aims to lay the groundwork for a future industrial-scale PFAS treatment hub in Belgium, supporting safer and more circular solutions for contaminated materials.