The real environmental tragedy is not pollution, but the inability to deploy innovative solutions.
As a cleantech CEO, I've seen working breakthroughs fail when systems resisted the change. Success in innovation demands navigating patents, regulation and capital markets. It's hard work, not an overnight win.
Here's an example: Municipalities worldwide are seeking better ways to remove toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), or "forever chemicals," which persist for hundreds of years. According to the National Institutes of Health, "widely adopted separation technologies can remove PFASs from being in contact with humans; however, they remain in the environment and continue to pose health risks."
In response to this problem, our cleantech innovation company developed a patented PFAS treatment technology, which is now being studied at the Lake Stockholm, New Jersey, municipal water facility. But just because there was a need didn't mean getting to that point was easy. There are many ways innovations can die before they deploy, even if they offer a strong solution.
Here are three actionable lessons I learned during our journey.
1. Bright ideas aren't enough on their own.
As an innovator, you must follow the money. There is a quote often credited to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." That advice emphasizes anticipation, forward-thinking and looking to the future to achieve a competitive edge.
For example, two major events in 2025 contributed to our success: the New Jersey settlements of over $2 billion between the state and major polluters, and the release of $945 million by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toward reducing exposure to PFASs in drinking water. Those funds created opportunities for solutions like my company's electrostatic technology to go to work in the field, and we capitalized on that.
Sometimes, however, technology struggles to gain traction. For example, at one of the largest-known oil reserves in the world, the operation is burdened by the significant environmental challenge of managing vast volumes of wastewater tailings. To address this issue, a group of 30 experts from industry, academia, government and finance convened to review what was presented as a major advancement in water treatment by our team. Researchers demonstrated that our filtration technology would be a very effective method for disinfecting these tailing.
Despite this validation, however, the pathway to commercialization stalled. While regulators signaled a strong intent to address environmental concerns, consistent follow-through to require the cleanup did not materialize. As a result, capital markets hesitated, waiting for clearer regulatory commitment before ushering in the kind of investment required to find adoption.
Optimism is wonderful, but it's important to have access to capital and understand how you'll drive returns. The first step is to identify a market gap you can fill. There might already be a solution available, but where does it fall short? In my experience, there's almost always something that's suboptimal about the current solution. Maybe it's too costly, or there is a supply chain issue. Think ahead: Are regulations likely to keep shifting? Can you get ahead of the coming demands?
2. Look for long-standing unresolved problems.
If at first you can't find the capital, my advice to innovators seeking future funding is this: Look for opportunities where big problems have been sitting unresolved for decades. I've found that in many cases, the real opportunity lives in that gap between known problem and enforced solution.
However, timing is everything. Many companies spot these gaps early, but few survive long enough to see policy, capital and public pressure finally align. In our case, it has taken the better part of a decade to see the opportunity with the Alberta oil sands re-emerge with real momentum.
That's why it's important to think beyond selling a widget and become a solution provider—nimble enough to partner, adapt, refine and stay engaged as conditions evolve. I've found that in most cases, the companies that endure are the ones that embed themselves in the problem, not just the technological product.
So don't just ask, "Is this a big problem?" Ask, "Has it lasted? What's held it back? And are the winds starting to shift?" When long-standing friction meets renewed political will, that's when markets move—and that's often where outsized value is created.
3. Don't lose sight of the environmental tug-of-war.
This happens time and time again: There's a problem big enough for politicians to get elected by shouting, "We're going to do something about this!" Then they go through Congress, trying to get their changes passed into law—and opposition shows up.
Wherever there's a force for good, there's a force for opposition. It's a tug-of-war, so be ready to go back and forth and really learn to hold your ground.
I recommend taking the attitude that regulators aren't antagonists; rather, they have an important job to do. Work with them to develop a roadmap that allows them to sign off with absolute confidence that they've done their job protecting the public.
It's also important to ensure they have the historical context they need. Create a summary of data from scientific literature that supports your findings to counter any concerns by regulators that your product is "too good to be true."
History is full of examples showing slow adoption, prolonged invention cycles and regulatory flip-flopping due to political shifts. My 20-plus years in environmental technology have given me a firsthand view of this difficult cycle. I've seen companies fail and hundreds of millions of dollars invested in technology that never reaches the market because political excitement for change diminished within the political system.
It takes more than great technology to solve a problem in the marketplace. In my experience, the technology that succeeds is usually the one that adapts as the target markets shift and that gets continued investment over the long term.
The Bottom Line
Finding the gap in the market for your technology isn't always easy, and even the right tech at the right time might be in for a long and arduous journey to market. But with perseverance and the right support, innovations in environmental tech can have more success stories.
[Editor's note: This opinion piece is based on an essay that appeared in Forbes Business Councils.]
Dennis P. Calvert is President and CEO of BioLargo, a Westminster-based cleantech company. He is a member of the Forbes Business Councils, serves on the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee, which advises the U.S. Department of Commerce, and chairs its Enabling Innovative Technology subcommittee.
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