Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood has stepped out of the shadows as a major backer of a Dallas startup that says it can take on PFAS, the so‑called forever chemicals, at true municipal scale. The money is flowing into Hexivon, a company pitching a treatment platform that it says destroys PFAS on‑site with no hazardous waste stream. For North Texas water systems already wrestling with PFAS detections, the bet is both ambitious and urgent.
In Tuesday's press release, Hexivon announced that Hillwood will be a major investor, with the stated goal of speeding up commercial deployments of the company’s PFAS destruction systems. The partnership is framed as the bridge from pilot projects to full‑scale municipal and industrial installations.
That urgency is tied directly to test results at home. As reported by The Dallas Morning News, 29 public water systems in North Texas have recorded PFAS levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s new drinking‑water limits. Statewide monitoring has also turned up dozens of Texas systems with PFAS detections and multiple exceedances, according to reporting by The Texas Tribune.
Why This Matters Now
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized national drinking‑water standards for several PFAS in April 2024 and set compliance timelines that put water utilities on a tight clock, according to the EPA. At roughly the same time, the Texas Legislature and the Texas Water Development Board moved to attach real money to treatment. HB500 and TWDB grant programs are steering more than $1 billion toward water projects that can include PFAS remediation, per the Texas Water Development Board.
What Hexivon Says It Can Do
Hexivon says its platform not only pulls PFAS out of flowing water but also chemically destroys the molecules on‑site, a two‑step pitch that the company says has yielded non‑detect results in pilot tests and produced no hazardous waste to haul away. The firm points to independent laboratory‑validated pilots that it says reduced PFAS to non‑detect levels in municipal test runs and argues that on‑site destruction avoids the disposal costs tied to carbon, ion‑exchange resin or reverse‑osmosis brine.
Experts Urge Caution
Federal and scientific bodies have been clear that any claims of permanent destruction need independent validation and long‑term monitoring. Reviews and guidance from the National Academies and clinical guidance from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry cite links between PFAS and health problems, including higher cholesterol, altered immune response to vaccines and an increased risk of certain cancers. Those same bodies emphasize the need for transparent third‑party testing before utilities lock in major spending.
Local Clout And The Pitch
In the company’s release, Hillwood chairman Ross Perot Jr. labeled Hexivon’s approach “disruptive” and cast Hillwood’s role as bringing deployment experience to a fast‑moving market. That quote appears in the Hexivon/PR Newswire announcement. The wager carries significant local heft. Hillwood’s AllianceTexas development covers roughly 27,000 acres and hosts hundreds of corporate residents and tens of thousands of jobs, giving the firm deep relationships across North Texas markets and with municipal customers.
Private capital could help move promising concepts into real‑world trials and position some systems to tap state grant windows. At the same time, regulators, scientists and utility managers are expected to watch closely for independent replication, full lifecycle cost estimates and formal regulatory sign‑off. For now, the Hillwood–Hexivon partnership stands as a high‑profile example of how federal deadlines and new funding streams are drawing private investors into the race to address a nationwide water problem.
