Arizona Tribune - 374Water and Arcadis Team Receives U.S. Department of Defense Success Memo Opening Pathway for AirSCWO(TM) Technology for PFAS Destruction at Commercial Scale

MORRISVILLE, NC / ACCESS Newswire / August 13, 2026 / 374Water Inc. (NASDAQ:SCWO) ("374Water" or the "Company"), a cleantech and environmental services company deploying supercritical water oxidation ("SCWO") technology for the permanent destruction of PFAS and hazardous organic waste streams, today announced that U.S. Department of Defense ("DoD") Defense Innovation Unit ("DIU") issued a Success Memo to 374Water's demonstration partner, Arcadis, validating the performance of 374Water's AirSCWO^™ destruction technology.

The Success Memo formally validates the economic and technical viability of a regional AirSCWO hub following a robust demonstration and evaluation program under the DoD's Environmental Security Technology Certification Program ("ESTCP"). It also designates successful completion of the Prototype Project (HQ0034-20-9-DIU) under 10 U.S.C. §4022 and establishes the conditions under which federal agencies may proceed directly to follow-on production awards.

This milestone connects federal validation with 374Water's commercial Waste Destruction Services ("WDS") platform in Orlando, Florida, where the Company is building critical destruction infrastructure to serve PFAS, biosolids, industrial waste, and other difficult-to-treat waste streams.

"Over the past several months, we have been focused on building the AirSCWO operating platform, and the vision is taking shape," said Danny Bogar, CEO of 374Water.

"We have established our long-term Waste Destruction Services hub in Orlando, creating a scalable platform for recurring revenues. We continue to earn market validation under the highest scrutiny, most recently through the Orange County Sanitation District acceptance test and now this Success Memo from the DoD's Defense Innovation Unit. Together, these milestones increase our commercial momentum as we bring this critical infrastructure to the markets that need it most."

The Federal Market

The Department of Defense has identified 574 military installations where PFAS contamination requires remediation action. To date, one facility, the New Hampshire Pease Air National Guard base, has been remediated at a reported cost of more than $400M.

While destruction of AFFF is underway, with approximately one billion dollars spent to date, large legacy stockpiles of AFFF and its residual contaminants need to be destroyed and replaced with a new, non-fluorine-based firefighting foam. In addition to the DoD, the Departments of Energy and Transportation are directly involved in PFAS remediation projects around the country.

"The DIU Success Memo confirms, in writing, that AirSCWO performs as advertised, and that federal agencies can procure it as a commercial product," said Howard Teicher, VP, Government at 374Water. "The OTA is expected to significantly accelerate the Federal government's PFAS remediation efforts, and with our partnership with Arcadis and the commercial infrastructure to perform 374Water is leading the way to destroy forever chemicals forever."

What Does a "Success Memo" Mean?

The DIU/ESTCP program is one of the most comprehensive independent evaluations of PFAS destruction technologies to date, validating AirSCWO's ability to treat a broad range of real-world waste streams generated by municipalities, industry, and government agencies.

Under the federal Other Transaction Authority ("OTA") framework, a DIU Success Memo formally closes the prototype phase and authorizes production awards. For 374Water, the practical significance is procurement by federal agencies seeking permanent PFAS destruction at scale. These agencies are authorized to move directly toward deployment with a validated, OTA-eligible technology and an established partner team.

"This Success Memo is a milestone for both Arcadis and 374Water," said Dr. Craig Divine, Senior Vice President at Arcadis. "The AirSCWO technology coupled with this Success Memo offers the whole of the US Military, and in fact any Federal entity, streamlined contracting options and the ability to permanently destroy AFFF and other PFAS wastes. Arcadis is a trusted advisor with significant federal contracting experience and after the extensive technology validation completed during this DIU/ESTCP program, we are pleased to collaborate with 374Water."

The Regional Hub Model: Built for This Moment

The DIU/ESTCP prototype project evaluated the hub-and-spoke concept that underpins this strategy: centralized PFAS destruction facilities capable of receiving concentrated waste streams from multiple installations and industrial customers across a geographic region. Orlando is 374Water's first commercial expression of that model.

Commercially, the Orlando WDS platform translates those demonstration results into a service model for customers that need long-term destruction capacity for biosolids, PFAS, industrial sludges, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and other difficult-to-manage waste streams while creating recurring revenue opportunities for 374Water.

"The Orlando Waste Destruction Service platform shows how we intend to turn validated AirSCWO performance into recurring commercial service capacity," added Bogar. "As customers seek permanent solutions for PFAS, biosolids, and other difficult waste streams, we believe 374Water is uniquely positioned at the intersection of environmental infrastructure, regulatory change, and growing demand for destruction technologies. We are building the foundation for what we believe can become a critical piece of the nation's waste destruction infrastructure."

374Water's Orlando Facility - operating under a license agreement with the City of Orlando - is the Company's advanced Waste Destruction Services hub. The expanded facility has added 88,000 gallons of onsite tank storage, upgrade AirSCWO capacity for significantly higher throughput, and target between $3 million and $5 million in annual recurring revenue at initial scale, with negotiations underway to more than double installed capacity. Iron Bridge serves as the commercial reference model for precisely the kind of regional infrastructure the DoD envisioned when funding the ESTCP prototype.

The federal procurement pathway opened by the DIU Success Memo and the OTA accelerates 374Water's ability to replicate this model at additional federal, commercial TSDF, or public-private partnership sites by reducing the need to repeat full demonstration cycles before deployment.

About 374Water

374Water Inc. (NASDAQ: SCWO) is a cleantech and environmental services company deploying supercritical water oxidation technology for the destruction of organic waste streams within the industrial, municipal, and federal markets. 374Water's AirSCWO technology is designed to efficiently destroy and mineralize a broad spectrum of nonhazardous and hazardous organic wastes, producing safe dischargeable water streams, safe mineral effluent, safe vent gas, and recoverable heat energy. 374Water's AirSCWO technology has the potential to assist its customers to meet discharge requirements, reduce or eliminate disposal costs, remove bottlenecks, and reduce litigation and other risks. 374Water continues to be a leader in innovative waste treatment solutions, dedicated to creating a greener future and eradicating harmful pollutants. Learn more by visiting www.374water.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

About Arcadis

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering data-driven sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. With around 34,000 architects, data analysts, designers, engineers, project planners, water management and sustainability experts, Arcadis is committed to accelerating a planet positive future and working with clients to make sustainable project choices, combining digital and human innovation, and embracing future-focused skills across the environment, energy and water, buildings, transport, and infrastructure sectors. Arcadis operates in over 30 countries, and reported €5 billion in gross revenues for 2025. www.arcadis.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this communication are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "confidence," "could," "design," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "potential," or other comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 374Water has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates, beliefs, and projections. While 374Water believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the 374Water's control. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in 374Water's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and in 374Water's subsequent filings and reports with the SEC. The forward-looking statements herein are made only as of the date they were first issued, and unless otherwise required by laws, 374Water disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact

Belton Copp
Vice President
Direct: 401-419-1545
[email protected]
www.374Water.com

SOURCE: 374Water Inc.

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