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Elateq treats a multitude of water contaminants with electricity The landfill on the southeastern edge of Amherst, Massachusetts, closed in the 1980s, but city officials say it’s still causing iron and manganese to leach into the groundwater. For years, residents have reported orange, contaminated water, so the town is trying out a new water treatment system developed by the start-up Elateq. Founded in 2020, Elateq uses an electrochemical cell to remove metals, pathogens, organic pollutants, and other contaminants. The system has a specialized carbon material that acts as bipolar electrodes. Cofounder and Chief Science Officer Ljiljana Rajic says fine-tuning the voltages across the electrodes enables the system to carry out reduction and oxidation reactions at the same time. On one side of the carbon, the electricity generates hydroxyl radicals, which oxidize organic pollutants. On the opposite side, the electricity reduces metals in the water and causes them to get plated