Energy Recovery
Corporate brand
UnclaimedEnergy Recovery is a U.S. industrial technology company that develops pressure-exchange equipment for desalination and water-treatment systems.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Energy Recovery is an American industrial technology company focused on recovering and transferring hydraulic pressure energy in water-treatment processes. Its best-known technology is the PX Pressure Exchanger, a device used primarily in seawater reverse osmosis desalination. By transferring pressure energy from a high-pressure reject stream to incoming feedwater, the equipment can reduce the electrical power required by desalination plants and may also reduce the size and operating burden of associated pumping equipment. The company was founded in 1992 by Leif Hauge and Marissa Hauge and was initially incorporated in Virginia. It was reincorporated in Delaware in 2001. Energy Recovery began selling PX pressure-exchange products for seawater reverse osmosis applications in 1997, establishing a business around energy efficiency in a process traditionally associated with high electricity consumption. The company went public in 2008. Its commercial scope has expanded beyond its original desalination applications. Energy Recovery has developed pressure exchangers designed for different operating pressures and process conditions, including equipment for ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis applications in wastewater treatment. The underlying principle is rapid pressure transfer between fluid streams while limiting direct mixing, allowing hydraulic energy that would otherwise be lost in the reject stream to be reused in the treatment process. The PX product family is the central element of the company’s market identity and is associated with large-scale desalination plants around the world. Reference material describes more than 35,000 Pressure Exchangers supplied in over 100 countries, as well as reported annual energy savings exceeding 14 billion kilowatt-hours and clean-water production of more than 12 billion liters per day. These figures describe the aggregate reach and claimed impact of the installed technology rather than a financial result. Energy Recovery serves infrastructure operators, engineering and construction contractors, and water-treatment system designers. Its positioning is based on process efficiency, lower energy consumption, and lifecycle economics rather than on consumer branding. The company is led by President and Chief Executive Officer David Moon. Its principal public identity remains tied to energy-recovery equipment for desalination and increasingly for advanced wastewater-treatment processes.
History
Energy Recovery was established in 1992 by Leif Hauge and Marissa Hauge. The business was first incorporated in Virginia and later reincorporated in Delaware in 2001. From its early development, the company concentrated on recovering energy from industrial fluid processes, with particular emphasis on the high-pressure streams generated by reverse-osmosis desalination. A significant commercial step occurred in 1997, when Energy Recovery began selling its PX pressure exchanger for seawater reverse osmosis. In a conventional desalination plant, seawater is forced through membranes at high pressure, while the concentrated reject stream leaves the system carrying substantial residual hydraulic energy. The PX device transfers much of that pressure to incoming feedwater, reducing the amount of new energy that pumps must supply. The transfer takes place rapidly and is designed to minimize mixing between the two fluid streams. The company’s technology gained relevance as municipalities, utilities, and industrial operators sought to manage the electricity requirements and operating costs of desalination. Over time, Energy Recovery supplied pressure exchangers for projects in numerous countries and developed products for different pressure ranges and system configurations. Its portfolio expanded beyond standard seawater reverse osmosis to include equipment for ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis and wastewater-treatment applications. Energy Recovery became a publicly traded company in 2008. Its public-company identity remained closely linked to the PX product family and to the broader industrial objective of lowering the energy intensity of water production. The company’s reported installed base grew to more than 35,000 Pressure Exchangers in over 100 countries, while its published aggregate impact figures describe substantial annual energy savings and daily clean-water production enabled by systems using its technology. In its current form, Energy Recovery is primarily a business-to-business technology supplier. It works within the water-infrastructure ecosystem rather than selling directly to household consumers, with customers and users including desalination developers, plant operators, engineering firms, and industrial water-treatment customers. The company is led by David Moon as President and Chief Executive Officer. Its continuing strategic theme is the application of pressure-exchange technology to additional water-treatment processes where high-pressure fluid streams create an opportunity for energy reuse.
- 2008
Public listing
[1]Energy Recovery became a publicly traded company.
- 2001
Reincorporated in Delaware
[1]The company was reincorporated in Delaware after having initially been incorporated in Virginia.
- 1997
PX technology enters commercial sales
[1]Energy Recovery began selling PX pressure exchangers for seawater reverse osmosis desalination applications.
- 1992
Company founded
[1]Leif Hauge and Marissa Hauge founded Energy Recovery in the United States.
Expansion into additional pressure ranges
[1]The company expanded its pressure-exchange portfolio to cover multiple pressure ranges and applications, including wastewater treatment and ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis.
Products and positioning
Energy Recovery positions itself as a specialist provider of hydraulic energy-recovery technology for water infrastructure. Its value proposition centers on reducing the power intensity, operating cost, and equipment demands of reverse-osmosis desalination and wastewater-treatment systems.
Desalination and water-treatment energy recovery · 1997
PX Pressure Exchanger
The PX Pressure Exchanger is Energy Recovery’s flagship technology for reverse-osmosis desalination. It transfers hydraulic pressure from a high-pressure reject stream to lower-pressure incoming feedwater, allowing the plant to reuse energy that would otherwise be dissipated. The device operates through rapid interaction between fluid streams while limiting their direct mixing. This can reduce the electrical demand of high-pressure pumps and support lower operating and maintenance requirements in seawater reverse osmosis plants.
Ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis equipment
U-Series
The U-Series is a group of pressure-exchange products intended for ultra-high-pressure reverse osmosis applications. The products extend Energy Recovery’s pressure-transfer approach into demanding wastewater-treatment and advanced water-reuse processes that operate at pressure levels beyond conventional seawater desalination. Their purpose is to improve hydraulic efficiency by recovering pressure from process streams and returning it to the treatment cycle.
Recent events
Reported
Ahmed Ghoneim to lead VorTeq development team[2]
Energy Recovery said Ahmed Ghoneim would manage the VorTeq development team moving forward.
Reported
Energy Recovery oil and gas vice president departs[2]
Energy Recovery announced that Vice President of Oil & Gas Eric Siebert was departing the company.
Sources2 sources
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