Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have emerged as one of the most pressing regulatory challenges confronting the global water industry. Thanks to their extreme persistence, resistance to degradation, and long-term health risks, PFAS are no longer regulated as conventional contaminants—they’re being treated as structural environmental hazards. In Europe, this shift has culminated in the revised Drinking Water Directive (EU) 2020/2184, set to fully take effect in January 2026.​ Under this directive, drinking water supplied to consumers must meet ultra-low PFAS limits: a maximum concentration of 0.50 μg/L for total PFAS, and 0.10 μg/L for the sum of priority PFAS compounds like PFOA. These thresholds apply across all EU Member States and are enforced at the point of consumption. More critically, the regulation reflects a broader policy ethos: long-term compliance won’t just be measured by water quality outcomes—it will require responsible material selection and source-level risk elimination.​ As a result, PFAS-containing materials used in water treatment processes are facing heightened scrutiny. Polymeric membranes based on PVDF, long hailed as an industry standard, are now structurally disadvantaged under the new regulatory framework. While cost-effective and widely deployed, PVDF membranes offer limited PFAS removal efficiency at ultra-low concentrations—and they’re classified as part of the PFAS family themselves. This creates inherent regulatory uncertainty, positioning such systems as transitional stopgaps rather than future-proof solutions.​ Meanwhile, water utilities and industrial operators are grappling with soaring compliance costs, mandatory PFAS monitoring requirements, and pressure to align with EU sustainability funding criteria. These forces are accelerating the shift toward PFAS-free treatment technologies that deliver reliable performance while minimizing long-term regulatory risk and total life-cycle costs.​ Ceramic membrane technology is increasingly recognized as a robust answer to these challenges. Manufactured from inorganic materials like alumina and titania, ceramic membranes are 100% PFAS-free—fully aligned with current and anticipated EU regulatory demands. Their high chemical and mechanical stability enables consistent PFAS removal even under harsh operating conditions, while their simplified process design cuts down on system complexity.​ While ceramic membranes typically require a higher upfront investment, their long service life, fouling resistance, and stable operation translate to significantly lower total CAPEX and OPEX over the full system lifecycle. What’s more, their durability and recyclability support sustainability goals and long-term infrastructure resilience.​ As Europe marches toward a PFAS-regulated future, water treatment strategies are being redefined. Technologies reliant on PFAS-based materials face growing limitations, while PFAS-free ceramic membranes are emerging as a mature, reliable, and future-ready foundation for compliant water treatment systems.

On December 28, 2025, the Nanjing Membrane Friends Annual Meeting was held in Nanjing, bringing together dozens of entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and academic experts from across the membrane science and techology sector in Nanjing. First initiated in 2019, this annual meeting has now been successfully held six times at the ends of each year. Nanjing plays as a role of strategic hub for national membrane industry development in China,where hundreds of scientists and doctors are working on membrane filtration technology since 1989. The city has formed a highly concentrated ceramic membrane industry cluster, supported by a full-chain ecosystem covering materials, module manufacturing, system engineering, and industrial deployment, with dedicated membrane technology industrial parks enabling efficient collaboration across the value chain. A key advantage of Nanjing’s “Membrane Valley” is its integrated industry----academia-research model, where universities, research institutes, and industrial companies work in close coordination. Combined with strong policy support and access to shared research and industrial resources, this environment enables ceramic membrane technologies to progress from research to scalable, reliable, and long-term industrial applications, strengthening Nanjing’s position in the global inorganic membrane landscape. Based in Nanjing, TANGENT works closely with the Membrane Research Institute, focusing on ceramic membrane R&D and engineering-oriented innovation. Building on a solid scientific research foundation and proven track record of industrial-scale applications, TANGENT is committed to delivering stable, reliable, eco-friendly and long-cycle membrane separation solutions to global clients, facilitating the achievement of carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals.

TANGENT organized a team-building activity in Luoyang, Henan Province, from December 13th to 17th, 2025. During the five-day trip, participants visited famous scenic spots such as the White Horse Temple, Laojun Mountain, and Shaolin Temple, immersing themselves in historical sites and natural landscapes. Through cultural enrichment, we build strength; through laughter and joy, we deepen our friendships.

TANGENT FLUID actively participated in the 2025 New Materials Entrepreneurs Conference held on December 12-13, 2025 in Shanghai, an influential industry event gathering nearly 1,000 professionals including experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from the global new materials sector. The conference served as a high-end platform for in-depth exchanges, focusing on in-depth discussions on the current development status, technological innovation trends and future development directions of the new advanced material industry, aiming to promote industrial cooperation and technological upgrading. As a rapidly advancing porous filtration material, ceramic membrane has attracted wide attention in the industry with its outstanding performance and broad application potential. It has been widely used in synthetic biology, chemical engineering, food processing, new energy, healthy drinking water and other key fields, effectively promoting efficiency improvement and quality upgrading in related industries. During the conference, TANGENT communicated with industry peers on ceramic membrane technology innovation and application expansion, further enhancing industry influence and laying a solid foundation for in-depth cooperation in the new materials field.