374Water Completes Phase 3 of Minnesota PFAS Destruction Pilot as Army Corps Validation Builds Federal Momentum

374Water Inc. (NASDAQ: SCWO), a cleantech and environmental services company deploying supercritical water oxidation technology, announced on August 25, 2026 the completion of Phase 3 of its mobile AirSCWO deployment in St. Cloud, Minnesota, concluding a three-phase sequence that successfully treated three distinct feedstocks between June 1 and July 31 with no operational issues. The field team began Phase 4 on August 10, 2026, processing Class B biosolids blended with PFAS-laden spent granular activated carbon from a Cottage Grove drinking water purification plant. The St. Cloud campaign runs under a $600,000 Waste Destruction Services contract with the City of St. Cloud and partner Barr Engineering at the city’s Nutrient, Energy, and Water Recovery Facility (NEWRF), supported by Minnesota LCCMR and ENRTF funding as part of the State’s broader evaluation of AirSCWO for permanent PFAS destruction.

Three Feedstocks, One Consistent Result: PFAS Destroyed, Not Just Contained

Most PFAS remediation methods available today concentrate or contain the chemicals rather than eliminating them, leaving a disposal problem downstream. AirSCWO uses supercritical water oxidation to break down organic material at conditions above water’s critical point, destroying PFAS molecular bonds rather than transferring the contamination elsewhere. Across Phases 1 through 3, the St. Cloud deployment processed Class B biosolids, Class A biosolids, and pre-anaerobic digestion sludge, with 374Water reporting PFAS destruction exceeding 99.95% in a 90-day biosolids campaign completed in March 2026 at the Orlando, Florida waste destruction facility it operates under license with the City of Orlando. The company called the preliminary Phase 3 destruction results “impressive.” Phase 4’s introduction of PFAS-laden spent granular activated carbon adds a fourth, more complex waste stream to the campaign, testing AirSCWO’s versatility against the varied contamination profiles that municipal and industrial customers actually generate.

Federal Validation Adds Independent Weight to the Technology’s Track Record

The Minnesota pilot gains credibility from a separate, independently validated demonstration completed weeks earlier. 374Water announced on July 23, 2026 that a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers technical report dated July 2026, ERDC TR-26-19, documented that AirSCWO destroyed 99.9993% of PFAS in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) under field conditions across 42 compounds tested, with individual compound destruction and removal efficiencies ranging from 99.994% to 100%. Liquid effluent met EPA maximum contaminant levels for all regulated PFAS compounds, and gas-stack emissions of volatile fluorinated compounds measured near zero. Arcadis U.S., a global environmental engineering firm, co-authored the report and independently validated the results using certified EPA methods including Method 1633, the TOP Assay, and OTM-45/OTM-50 stack emissions protocols. That report underpins a Memorandum of Understanding 374Water executed with Arcadis in July 2026 to jointly pursue federal and commercial AFFF and PFAS destruction contracts, pairing Arcadis’s federal contracting access with 374Water’s destruction technology. The Department of Defense has identified 574 military installations requiring PFAS remediation, with PFAS stockpiles reported at more than 650 installations worldwide.

A Path From Pilot to Recurring Revenue, With Real Commercial Uncertainty Ahead

374Water frames each successful pilot as a building block toward a scalable, recurring mobile AirSCWO services business rather than a one-off demonstration. The company estimates a mobile AirSCWO unit could generate $500,000 to $1.5 million in annual revenue once deployed commercially, and management has stated the St. Cloud campaign could support multiple millions of dollars in follow-on revenue if Minnesota’s evaluation concludes favorably. 374Water posted a $4.57 million net loss in Q1 2026 on revenue of $551,000, but Q2 2026 preliminary revenue rose sharply to more than $2.2 million, up roughly 267% year over year, driven largely by approximately $2.0 million recognized on an Orange County Sanitation District Factory Acceptance Test. That said, 374Water remains an early-stage, small-cap company, and converting technical validation into signed, recurring commercial and federal contracts remains the central execution risk. The Arcadis partnership’s intended use of 374Water’s existing Orlando facility, with additional regional hubs anticipated, will be a key indicator of whether that conversion is materializing.

Strategic Investment Summary

• Phase 3 Completed: 374Water (NASDAQ: SCWO) completed Phase 3 of its St. Cloud, Minnesota mobile AirSCWO deployment on July 31, 2026, successfully treating three distinct feedstocks under a $600,000 WDS contract with the City of St. Cloud and Barr Engineering, and announced the results on August 25.
• Phase 4 Underway: The field team has begun Phase 4, processing Class B biosolids blended with PFAS-laden spent granular activated carbon from Cottage Grove, adding a fourth and more complex waste stream to the Minnesota evaluation.
• Army Corps Validation: A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report dated July 2026 (ERDC TR-26-19), announced July 23 and co-authored and independently validated by Arcadis, documented 99.9993% PFAS destruction across 42 compounds in AFFF under field conditions using certified EPA testing methods.
• Arcadis Partnership: 374Water executed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arcadis in July 2026 to jointly pursue federal and commercial PFAS destruction contracts, targeting a Department of Defense market spanning 574 identified installations requiring remediation.
• Revenue Model: 374Water estimates $500,000 to $1.5 million in annual revenue per commercially deployed mobile AirSCWO unit; Q2 2026 preliminary revenue rose to more than $2.2 million, up roughly 267% year over year, aided by a completed Orange County Sanitation District Factory Acceptance Test.
• Execution Risk: 374Water remains an early-stage, small-cap company that posted a $4.57 million net loss in Q1 2026; converting pilot-stage validation into signed recurring commercial and federal contracts remains the primary variable for investors to monitor.

Find out more about the latest corporate developments and financial reports at the 374Water investor portal.