Europe is falling behind on PFAS roadmap as femtosecond laser technology emerges as alternative

Femtosecond laser startup LITILIT has announced that its ultrashort-pulse laser technology could help reduce reliance on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals’, at a time when Europe is falling behind its roadmap to curb hazardous chemicals and faces growing legal and regulatory pressure over PFAS pollution.

Regulatory pressure on PFAS intensifies across Europe

In July environmental organization ClientEarth filed a human rights complaint against Belgium over PFAS pollution, arguing that the country is failing to protect its population from PFAS-related health risks. The action reflects mounting global pressure to restrict these toxic substances.

Concerns about PFAS were also highlighted in a recent report by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a network of 190 civil society organisations from 41 countries. The report concluded that Europe is lagging behind on its roadmap to curb hazardous chemicals, including PFAS.

Back in 2022, Europe announced a roadmap to ban PFAS and expand restrictions. However, the EEB report notes that in the four years since, only limited progress has been made. Separately, at the start of July, ClientEarth submitted its complaint against Belgium, while the Swedish government recently announced plans to ban ‘forever chemicals’ in consumer products such as clothing and kitchenware as early as 2028.

Femtosecond lasers as a PFAS-free surface treatment

According to experts at LITILIT, moving away from ‘forever chemicals’ will require faster adoption of technologies that can replace them. Company CEO and co-founder Nikolajus Gavrilinas explains that PFAS-based coatings can be substituted using extremely short light pulses.

“PFAS coatings are widely used to repel water, oil, and stains, but femtosecond lasers offer another route: they can texture surfaces at micro- and nano-scale to make materials water-repellent without applying a fluorinated coating. It's an approach that applies anywhere water, ice or corrosion are a problem – from building materials and stone to metal, glass and everyday interior products."

How femtosecond laser surface texturing works

Femtosecond lasers emit pulses that last a quadrillionth of a second. These pulses are so brief that the light reshapes a material’s surface before heat has time to spread into it. This ultrafast interaction allows the laser to carve micro- and nanoscale textures into a surface without causing thermal damage.

By engineering these textures, manufacturers can achieve functional properties such as water repellency and corrosion resistance that would traditionally rely on PFAS-based or other chemical coatings.

Beyond PFAS: Replacing chemical processes in multiple sectors

Gavrillinas notes that the same principle extends beyond PFAS substitution. Ultrashort laser beams can replace or reduce the use of chemistry in areas ranging from everyday electronics to furniture and interior design.

In furniture and interior applications, for example, femtosecond lasers can be used to create decorative metal elements, handles or fittings where colour and visual effects are generated directly in the material, without the need for paint or ink.

Scaling up femtosecond laser manufacturing capacity

According to Gavrillinas, one of the biggest challenges in applying femtosecond lasers at scale is that manufacturing capacity is not keeping pace with growing industrial demand. To address this, LITILIT has started construction of a factory in Vilnius, aiming to produce 3,000 femtosecond lasers per year.

The company’s lasers are based on several patented inventions developed by LITILIT co-founders Kęstutis Regelskis, Nerijus Rusteika and Gavrillinas, in close collaboration with the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) in Vilnius.

Making advanced lasers easier to adopt in real factories

Gavrillinas emphasises that the transition away from toxic chemicals depends on making alternative tools practical for manufacturers.

“Manufacturers cannot move away from toxic chemicals at scale if the alternative tools remain expensive, complex and difficult to integrate. That is why we are focused not only on making femtosecond lasers work, but on making them easier to produce, easier to install and easier to use in real factories,” he says.

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