Aquatrino—Solving the Environment’s Biggest Challenges

Marc Slakmon was looking for a way to solve one of the world’s most stubborn environmental problems: PFAS.

Often called “forever chemicals,” PFAS have quietly contaminated water systems around the globe. For years, the standard response has been to capture and dispose of it in a way that moves the problem from one place to another instead of eliminating it.

Aquatrino is working to change that. Their technology destroys PFAS at the source, and it was brought to life through Nashville’s innovation ecosystem.

When Marc first had the idea for Aquatrino, he searched the country to find the brightest minds in water research. That’s when he found Shihong Lin, then a professor at Vanderbilt. From there, Marc found the technical talent, commercialization support and infrastructure needed to move an idea beyond the lab.

“Vanderbilt alone is an incredible asset,” Marc said. “There’s the patent office, lab analytics, people focused on connecting industry and academia, a venture fund investing in local startups and all the talent coming out of the university. For us, it’s a great hub to tap into engineers, chemists and business people.”

Nashville’s higher education and research base runs deep. Middle Tennessee universities directed more than $1.4 billion to research and development in 2024. But Aquatrino’s support extended well beyond campus, with help from Launch Tennessee, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Cumberland Emerging Technologies Life Sciences Center, where the company’s lab is located.

Nashville has “a lot of innovation and a lot of people supporting that innovation,” Marc said. 

Aquatrino is taking on a problem that has resisted easy answers for decades. In Nashville, the right people, ideas and infrastructure are coming together to help make it solvable.

Follow Aquatrino as they Cowrite the Future of Clean Water.