Stockholm, December 2025 — Pesticides, microplastics, and PFAS are now present in the blood of nearly every European. To reverse this alarming trend, Nordic private equity firm Summa Equity has unveiled a €226 billion investment plan to restore Europe’s water health by 2040 — while delivering strong returns for investors and unlocking a €1 trillion market opportunity as Europe’s water-health economy scales over the next 15 years.

According to Summa, the failure to fully implement existing EU environmental laws costs Europeans at least €180 billion a year in hidden health and economic impacts. “If we approach this as an investment opportunity rather than a cost, Europe’s water crisis can be solved within fifteen years,” Camus adds.

The firm’s new report outlines a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in water health: tracking and reducing pollution at the source, scaling technologies that remove contaminants, and upgrading treatment infrastructure to safeguard populations and restore ecosystems. The model promises double-digit returns, strong regulatory support, and tangible impact.

A combination of prevention policies and ‘polluter and beneficiary-pays’ mechanisms could finance much of the transition, the report suggests, reducing pressure on household water bills. Early commitments from the European Investment Bank and new EU Water Resilience initiatives are already drawing private investors to the sector.

Summa estimates that €226 billion in targeted investments across pollution control, clean water infrastructure, and remediation services could bring European waters back to health within 15 years — roughly the cost of 18 months of inaction. By 2040, the share of Europeans exposed to drinking water above the safety line could drop from up to 50% today to below 5%.