By Corresponding Authors Castine A. Bernardy, Ph.D., CDM Smith; and James P. Malley, Jr., Ph.D., Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
University of New Hampshire

A Snapshot of the UV Technology Global Market

Updates as of 10/01/2025 show that the global UV technology market is diverse and includes several segments, with the UV disinfection equipment market valued at $3.5-$4.1 billion in 2024 and projected to grow significantly, driven by demand for chemical-free sterilization. Other segments, like the UV curing system market, were valued at around $6.1 billion in 2024 and are expanding. The overall market is experiencing robust growth across various applications, such as water treatment, disinfection and industrial processes.

Key Market Segments: ¹

• UV Disinfection Equipment: This segment is driven by the need for safe, non-chemical disinfection in healthcare, water treatment and food processing. The market was valued at $3.5-$4.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 13.7% or 7.1% depending on the report, reaching $10-$11 billion by 2030-2033.
• UV Curing Systems: This market, which uses UV light to cure inks, coatings and adhesives, was valued at around $6.1 billion in 2024. It is projected to grow at a CAGR of about 11.52%, driven by advantages like speed, energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
• UV LED: This market is growing due to the demand for energy-efficient and mercury-free lighting solutions. The market was valued at approximately $1.23 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% to reach $2.16 billion by 2030.
• UV Sensors: The market was valued at $5.81 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a high CAGR of 25.49% to reach $35.65 billion by 2032.
• UV Filters: Valued at approximately $334.71 million in 2023, the market is expected to reach $482.24 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.4%.

Market Drivers:

• Increasing demand for non-chemical disinfection methods in response to health concerns and environmental regulations.
• Technological advancements, such as the development of more efficient UV LEDs and smart, IoT-enabled systems.
• Growing adoption in diverse industries, including water and wastewater treatment, healthcare, food and beverage, electronics manufacturing and automotive.
• Favorable government initiatives, global population growth and urbanization.

AWWA-WQTC

Traditionally one of the most impactful presentations on UV technology-driven research and applied applications in ‘One Water’, other than IUVA-originated conferences, AWWA-WQTC was held November 9-13, 2025, at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center in Tacoma, Washington. The following is a summary of UV-related presentations shown in the conference program.

PST01and PST02, 11/10/2025: Poster sessions featured Enhancing UV Disinfection of Drinking Water Using Sonication by Melanie Gamboa, University of Colorado Boulder; Evaluating the Efficiency of Powdered Activated Carbon in Quenching Hydrogen Peroxide following UV-H2O2 Advanced Oxidation by Maeva Che Mankah Lumbe, University of Toronto; Fate of UV-Inactivated Pathogens in Biofilm Formation by Matthew Helms, University of Colorado Boulder; Streamlining Compliance Reporting with SQL Automation: Lessons from the Los Angeles Reservoir Ultraviolet Disinfection Plant by Ashley Choy, Arcadis; and Evaluation of 222 nm Far-UVC for Microbial Disinfection: A Comparative Study with LP Mercury UV and UV-LEDs by Yoontaek Oh, Pegasus Technical Services, Inc.

11/10/2025: Presentation sessions featured: Chlorine Analytical Method Comparison for UV/AOP in Potable Reuse Applications by Shannon Maceiko, MWDSC, and Samuel Patton; Treating 1,4-dioxane in RO concentrate with UV advanced oxidation processes involving mercury-based UV and novel UV-LED technology by Ramola Vaidya, HDR; Enhanced Disinfection of MS2 Using Far-UVC in the Presence of Nitrate for Water Reuse Applications, Dana Pousty, CU Boulder.

11/11/2025: Poster and presentation sessions featured: Photolysis at the Speed of Light: High-Intensity UV LED Photolysis for Water Treatment: Chemical-Free Degradation of Trace Organic by Carolina Ontiveros, Dalhousie University; PFAS Destruction with UV Advanced Reduction Processes at the Pilot Scale by Natalia Hoogesteijn, Hazen and Sawyer; Enabling Photolytic Destruction of PFAS with KrCl* Lamps: Direct Photolysis and Hydrated Electron-Mediated Degradation by Garrett McKay; Using Photo-activated Reductive Defluorination (PRD) to Destroy PFAS from Bench Scale to Full Scale by Sarah Meyer, Enspired Solutions; Novel Validation of a Full-Scale UV-LED Reactor for Treatment of Groundwater in the Las Vegas Valley by Ariel Atkinson, Southern Nevada Water Authority; Harnessing UV LED Technologies for Biofilm Prevention in Drinking Water Infrastructure by Madison Ferrebee, University of Colorado Boulder.

11/12/2025: Presentation sessions featured: Comparing the Disinfection of Total Coliforms Colonizing Aged Versus Pristine Microplastics by Chlorine and UV by Rasha Maal-Bared, CDM Smith; Revealing Nitrifier and NTM Resilience to Low-Dose UV in a Full-Scale Drinking Water System Using DNA- and Viability-Based Methods by Sarah Potgieter, University of Michigan; and Next-Generation Virus Monitoring: Lessons from Full-Scale UV LED Disinfection by Emalie Hayes, Dalhousie University.

Several other interesting presentations on UV technology related to One Water applications also can be searched for at other conferences that were not previously covered in the 2025 Q3 edition of UV Solutions, including the WaterSmart Innovations Conference & Expo 2025 (October 7-9, 2025); IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition (December 8-12, 2025); the Membrane Technology Conference (Feb. 2-5, 2026; and the 41st Annual WateReuse Symposium (Mar. 8-11, 2026).

Recent Publications Related to UV Technology and One Water

The areas of growing interest related to the use of UV technology in One Water can be summarized as falling into a few general areas: 1) the continuing advances in UV LED technology leading to more full-scale applications of UV LED systems in conventional municipal wastewater disinfection and in municipal drinking water disinfection; 2) continuing developments and advancements in the use of UV driven advanced oxidation processes in water reuse applications; 3) continuing research and development scale work in the possible use of UV driven technologies, such as advanced reduction processes, to treat PFAS and other emerging ‘forever chemicals’; and 4) a wide array of UV driven research into other emerging organic micropollutants including microplastics. These are captured in the following literature review.

Multiple scientific search engines have been used to identify peer-reviewed articles which may be of interest to professionals working in the UV technology for “One Water” segment. This quarter’s search identified ~250,000 citations, therefore the criteria: published between July 1 and September 30, 2025, most cited articles, timeliness of topic relative to reader interests (e.g., UV-LEDs, forever chemicals, emerging pathogens of interest) and/or the quality of the journal publishing the work were used to produce the following list – capped at five for sake of publication length.

1. Transformation of microplastics during UV LED-based water disinfection: Mechanistic insights and environmental implications. Ou, Jieli; Tang, Yuqi; Elimian, Ehiaghe Agbovhimen; Yang, Xinyu; Liu, Yiqing; Fu, Yongsheng; Gamal El-Din, Mohamed Journal of hazardous materials, 2025-09, Vol.495, p.139121, Article 139121
2. In Situ Elimination of Water Disinfection Byproducts in the UV/Chlorine Process by Introducing a Faceted Photocatalyst Liu, Lu ; Liu, Tian ; Liu, Hong-Zhi ; Hu, Zhen-Yu ; Meng, Yan ; Kong, Yuan ; Liew, Kim Meow ; Liu, Ruiping ; Li, Wen-Wei Environmental science & technology, 2025-07, Vol.59 (27), p.14150-14160
3. Regression model and artificial neural network model to predict halonitromethane formation from amino acids during UV/monochloramine disinfection in bromide-containing real water Xu, Bohui ; Chen, Xiaoliang ; Zhang, Changbo ; Luo, Wei ; Deng, Lin Environmental pollution (1987), 2025-09, Vol.385, p.127117, Article 127117
4. Comparison of two different container designs and UV-C LED configurations in their drinking water disinfection efficiency Caduff, Lea; Englert, Alexander; Meierhofer, Regula; Burkhardt, Michael Frontiers in water, 2025-08, Vol.7
5. Effective disinfection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes from water using chlorination, UV and UV/H2O2 Khan, Javed Ali ; Ogunniyi, Abiodun D. ; Brunetti, Gianluca ; Drigo, Barbara; Shah, Noor S. ; Al-Anazi, Abdulaziz ; Donner, Erica Process safety and environmental protection, 2025-10, Vol.202, p.107589, Article 107589 

Reference

1. Multiple AI driven market searches for the period ending October 1, 2025 produced this summary and included the following sources:
   www.marketsandmarkets.com,  www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uv-disinfection-equipment-market,  www.grandviewresearch.com and www.mordorintelligence.com.