The full-scale rollout combines Jan De Nul's soil-flush technique with on-site water treatment at the former De Naeyer paper mill site, already redeveloped as a residential area. Water pumped into the soil dislodges PFAS, which are skimmed off at the surface and filtered before the water is recirculated, avoiding excavation around buildings and curbing water use. The site's highest contamination lies only a few metres deep. Partners include OVAM (the Flemish public waste agency), KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp, VITO, Bio2Clean, TAUW and Novobiom; the EU co-finances the LIFE PFASTER project, which also studies how PFAS spread in soil and water.
Context
It is the first large-scale deployment since the laboratory and pilot stages Jan De Nul reported when the project launched in August 2026.