Energy Recovery, Inc. designs and manufactures energy saving technology for critical infrastructure using its pressure exchanger platform to improve efficiency and lower emissions in water treatment and refrigeration applications. The core product is a pressure exchanger that captures and transfers pressure energy from high pressure fluid streams to low pressure streams, reducing the energy needed for pumps and compressors. This technology is applied in seawater desalination, brackish water desalination, wastewater treatment and carbon dioxide based refrigeration systems. By enabling customers to cut operating costs and environmental impact, the company supports global efforts to secure clean water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy Recovery, Inc. generates revenue by selling its pressure exchanger devices, pumps, turbochargers and related engineering and support services to customers in the desalination, wastewater treatment and refrigeration markets. Sales include original equipment supplied to project developers, spare parts and maintenance services for installed systems, and engineering assistance for system integration. The company serves a global customer base through a direct sales force and works with regional partners in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Revenue is derived from both large scale municipal projects and smaller commercial installations, with a significant portion coming from repeat orders and aftermarket activity.
The company operates through the following segments: Water and Emerging Technologies. These segments are defined by product application and end market rather than geography.
- Water: This segment provides pressure exchanger devices, pumps and turbochargers for seawater and brackish desalination, wastewater treatment and water reuse projects, helping customers reduce energy consumption and operating costs. Products are used in new plant construction, facility expansions and retrofits of existing reverse osmosis installations. The segment also offers technical support, performance guarantees and training to ensure optimal system efficiency over the equipment lifecycle.
- Emerging Technologies: This segment develops and markets pressure exchanger based solutions for carbon dioxide refrigeration systems, including the PX G1300 device, to improve energy efficiency and cooling capacity in commercial and industrial cooling applications. The technology recovers pressure energy from the refrigerant cycle to reduce compressor workload, lower electricity use and enhance system reliability. Activities include product design, prototype testing, field trials with original equipment manufacturers and direct sales to end users such as supermarket chains and cold storage facilities.
Energy Recovery, Inc. holds a leading position in the pressure exchanger market, with its products considered the industry standard in reverse osmosis desalination. Competitive advantages include durable ceramic alumina components designed for long life, warranty coverage for high efficiency, minimal planned and unplanned downtime, and scalable solutions that require no scheduled maintenance. The company’s intellectual property portfolio protects its core technology and manufacturing processes, creating barriers to entry for new competitors. While other firms offer similar energy recovery devices for water and refrigeration applications, few match the combination of proven performance, long term reliability and global service support that Energy Recovery provides. Market trends toward water scarcity, stricter environmental regulations and growing adoption of carbon dioxide as a natural refrigerant reinforce demand for the company’s solutions.
Energy Recovery, Inc. serves desalination project developers, engineering procurement and construction firms, municipal and industrial water treatment operators, supermarket chains, cold storage facilities and other industrial users seeking efficient and reliable energy recovery solutions. In the water market, customers include public utilities undertaking large scale seawater desalination plants, private developers building resort and industrial water systems, and operators of wastewater treatment plants looking to cut energy use. In the refrigeration market, the company sells to supermarket chains that operate carbon dioxide based systems, to cold storage warehouses requiring reliable cooling, and to industrial manufacturers that use carbon dioxide as a process fluid. The diverse customer base spans North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, reflecting the global reach of the company’s technology.