Ann Arbor PFAS cleanup startup to begin deploying its tech with new funding

Ann Arbor-based startup Sequestro has found the support it needs to begin deploying its technology to remove harmful PFAS “forever chemicals” from our water sources.

A plethora of local Michigan startup investment organizations are financially backing ArborSORB, Sequestro’s sawdust-based water filtration system. The system attracts and absorbs PFAS chemicals in a more sustainable and cost-efficient manner than any other solution currently available. 

“We have raised all [funds] within the Michigan startup ecosystem, which has been quite supportive and has responded quite well to what we’re trying to do,” says Sequestro CEO and co-founder Juergen Koller. “I think there is a very big appetite to help startup companies succeed, and a lot of these folks are putting their money where their mouth is.”

According to Koller, over $700,000 in pre-seed money has been pledged to Sequestro, culminating two weeks ago in a $150,000 investment by Ann Arbor SPARK. Koller says the money will be put toward pilot programs for initial customers — ideally the engineering powerhouses that are called upon to solve manufacturers’ PFAS problems — to test ArborSORB for themselves.

Not only is Sequestro’s sawdust effective at absorbing many different types of PFAS molecules, but it is also a bio-renewable, inexpensive alternative to its manufactured counterparts, making it a viable solution for large and small corporations alike. Additionally, sawdust is often the residual waste of Michigan’s lumber industry, meaning ArborSORB eliminates the waste of one industry by creating a solution for another’s. That’s the part Koller is proudest of.

“A good sustainability story doesn’t start with ‘Hey, I shipped this from halfway around the globe’ or ‘I made something from an oil-based material,’” Koller says. “That doesn’t make a good story for a reason and we try to bypass all of that by going after local raw materials.”

Koller, who grew up surrounded by nature in a small German town of just 40 households, came to America to earn his PhD from the University of Florida. After working as an industrial chemist for 15 years, Koller says he felt there was “some kind of mismatch” between his line of work and the ecocentric world he was brought up in. 

After a fair share of soul-searching, Koller fixed that disconnect by reaching out to University of Michigan chemistry professor Anne McNeil about her research into removing PFAS chemicals from drinking water using wood residuals — the foundational research behind Sequestro. The two became co-founders of the company in July 2024.

Michigan’s state government is one of the nation’s leaders in limiting the widespread scale and effect of PFAS chemicals, according to Koller, setting an example the federal government seeks guidance from. He says the state’s awareness of the issue and its booming lumber industry make Michigan “about as good of a fertile starting ground” as a sawdust-based PFAS-eliminating startup could ask for.

Koller’s hope is that by the end of 2027, Sequestro’s first customers will have tested ArborSORB for themselves, recognized its benefits, and will then seek partnership that leads to larger-scale commercialization and cleaner, safer water. 

“We’ve been lucky to be on the receiving end of this,” Koller says. “It’s not only the money. I think what’s also equally important is that they’re believing in your story, in your mission, in what you’re trying to accomplish.”