International Initiative to Tackle “Forever Chemicals” at Defence Sites
OTTAWA, CANADA — In a groundbreaking, multi-national effort to address one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing military installations worldwide, the Canadian Army will host NATO’s first-ever Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Treatment Technology Test Bed in 2026. The initiative represents a significant step forward in combatting the legacy of contamination from toxic “forever chemicals” that have plagued defence establishments across allied nations.
The announcement, by the Canadian Army on November 18, 2025, follows more than two years of collaboration initiated by the NATO Science and Technology Organization, which in 2023 created a special Research Task Group, AVT-HFM-403, specifically to address challenges posed by PFAS in defence contexts. The test bed will gather more than 35 of the leading PFAS scientific experts from 11 nations, along with industry innovators, academic researchers, and government representatives to test the treatment technologies in controlled conditions.
The PFAS Challenge in Defence
PFAS are a family of several thousand synthetic chemicals that are commonly known to be exceptionally persistent in both the environment and the human body, thus earning the colloquial moniker “forever chemicals.” The legacy resulting from their widespread use in AFFF for firefighting applications has left an unfortunate outcome: contamination of NATO and allied defense sites in soils, groundwater, equipment, and critical RTAs.
These impacts have created operational complications that extend far beyond environmental concerns. Contamination affects military training capabilities, infrastructure maintenance, and access to the clean soil and water necessary to support defence operations. The widespread nature of PFAS contamination at military sites, coupled with chemicals that are toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative, poses significant challenges to environmental health and human wellbeing globally.
A Collaborative Scientific Approach
The test bed, under the scientific leadership of the AVT-HFM-403 Research Task Group and hosted by the Canadian Army, will test selected PFAS treatment technologies using real contaminated soils from a Canadian defence establishment. The initiative is being led by co-chairs Stefanie Goure from the Canadian Army’s National Defence and Rolf Keiser from Switzerland’s Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport.
Participating organizations will apply their technologies under controlled conditions, with results assessed by a specially appointed panel of experts. The soil comes from a release of modern fluorotelomer-based aqueous film-forming foam at a Range and Training Area and provides participants with authentic contaminated material to test their treatment approaches.
After the testing period, the results and lessons learned will be shared at a three-day, in-person seminar at a Canadian Army base in 2026. During the seminar, there will be presentations of the technology treatment results by industry and academic participants, live or static demonstrations of technologies, and panel discussions designed to facilitate dialogue among researchers, technology developers, end-users, and regulators.
Multiple Pathways for Participation
It offers three different ways to join in, devised in ways that assure maximum impact through collaboration:
Technology Testing: Applications can be made to take up to one cubic meter of PFAS-contaminated soil from the Canadian Army for independent testing. For the NATO Seminar, participants will conduct self-directed treatment using their own technologies and present results. It is open to academic institutions, industry, or not-for-profit organizations at a Canadian address; international participants can also join in but must manage their own logistics for receiving soil.
Value-Added Contributions: Voluntary participants may offer value-added contributions, including, but not limited to, distributing soils to farms for demonstration purposes and conducting laboratory or other analyses or providing specialized technical expertise related to the reconstitution and beneficial reuse of remediated soils.
Government Involvement: Input from both domestic and international government representatives will be invaluable to ensure the effort meets operational, regulatory, and defence-specific goals. Eligible government participants may include: operational personnel; end-users of PFAS treatment technologies; regulatory representatives; and analytical experts.
Performance Goals and Evaluation
Treatment efficacy will be evaluated in terms of several comprehensive metrics for target and non-target analysis, total PFAS concentration, leachability, percentage total reduction, and other relevant indicators. Benchmarks will be developed for use as reference points, and a tiered approach may be utilized to correlate performance results with various reuse or management options.
Evaluation will be based mainly on Canadian criteria, such as the CCME standards for PFOS, but metrics from other jurisdictions will also be considered to support an assessment and allow for comparison to identify applicability across nations. This flexible approach is designed to foster discussion, comparison, and knowledge exchange among international participants.
Where responses exceed available capacity, preference will be given to technologies at higher Technology Readiness Levels to support near-term deployable solutions, submissions at lower TRLs that are scalable with documented performance, and academic submissions with formal commercial partnerships.
Funding and Support
A number of funding provisions are given to facilitate the participation of as many people as possible. The full cost of distributing the soils within Canada from the Canadian Army to the participants’ Canadian locations will be covered. Full funding will be provided for the analyses pre-specified by the organizers; any supplementary analyses are the participants’ responsibility. Partial funding of optional equipment mobilization may be provided. However, individual travel and accommodation costs associated with attending the 2026 NATO Seminar are not covered.
Timeline and Next Steps
A call for expressions of interest was released on November 7, 2025; submission is required by November 28, 2025. Technology participants will be notified of acceptance between December 8-10, 2025. Following notification, engagement with the NATO Technical Committee will occur. Distribution of soils is expected to occur late 2025 through 2026. The NATO Seminar is expected to be conducted summer/fall of 2026 at a Canadian Army establishment.
The test bed results will be recorded and disseminated, based on NATO release policy, during the fall of 2026 and into 2027. The classification is determined as NATO Unclassified (PfP + STEP), although some information might be publicly released via approved channels.
A Model for Future Collaboration
This voluntary, partially funded science opportunity constitutes an important step toward addressing the challenges presented by PFAS contamination, extending well beyond military contexts. Participation does not imply procurement, partnership, or endorsement on behalf of the host nation, NATO, or any other participating organization; however, the outcome is likely to inform future NATO activities such as the design of follow-on PFAS test beds, the standardization of technology performance criteria, and the advancement of collaborative activities in support of defence objectives.
The initiative welcomes applications from NATO, Partnership for Peace (PfP), and Science & Technology Enhanced Partnership (STEP) Nations. Invited participants must meet Canadian security requirements for access and participation.
Interested organizations, academia, and government representatives are invited to read the full call letter, accessible from the NATO STO website, and provide a letter of intent no later than November 28. Any questions regarding the initiative should be directed to the specific email address provided by the Canadian Army: [email protected].
This test bed reflects a commitment to the development of sustainable, field-ready solutions to counter the persistent challenge of PFAS contamination facing the NATO community, in support of environmental health and operational readiness across allied defence establishments worldwide.
Reference: Expression of Interest PFAS Treatment Technologies
