Updated:
Energy Recovery
David Moon runs the pressure-exchanger business born from NASA research that powers desalination plants across six continents.
Energy Recovery
Energy Recovery was founded in 1992 in Virginia, originally to commercialize gas-liquid separation technology for Space Shuttle rocket nozzles and geothermal heat pumps. David Moon joined in 2010 and became CEO in 2019, steering the company through a strategic pivot that broadened its reach beyond desalination into industrial wastewater treatment and commercial CO2 refrigeration. The firm became a publicly traded company in 2005 (per SEC filings) and is headquartered in San Leandro, California. The company's primary product is the PX Pressure Exchanger, a ceramic rotor that transfers hydraulic pressure between high-pressure and low-pressure fluid streams with over 94 percent efficiency (per peer-reviewed literature, 2023). In seawater reverse-osmosis desalination, installing PX arrays typically reduces energy consumption by 55 to 60 percent compared with plants that do not use the technology. Energy Recovery holds market leadership in mega-scale desalination — the Taweelah plant in Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali in Dubai, and Carlsbad in California all rely on PX devices. A parallel line of pumps and turbochargers addresses brackish water and resource-intensive industrial processes in mining and textiles across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. In 2022 the firm entered the commercial and industrial CO2 refrigeration market, adapting the pressure-exchanger architecture to capture expansion work in transcritical CO2 systems for supermarkets and cold storage. Energy Recovery sold its 1 millionth PX device in 2021. The company's manufacturing and supply chain reach across North America, Asia, and the Middle East, with additional sales and service staff stationed in Dubai, Shanghai, and Chennai. Alongside the core water business, the VorTeq hydraulic fracturing pump project — an attempt to apply pressure-exchange technology to oilfield pumping — was wound down in 2019, freeing resources for the CO2 refrigeration expansion. In July 2024, Energy Recovery appointed its long-time predecessor to the board of directors to support the newly formed CO2 refrigeration business unit. The firm's structural differentiator is its intellectual property moat: by 2024 the company held over 138 active U.S. and international patents covering the PX and related pressure-management technologies (per patent office records). Unlike providers of membranes or chemicals, Energy Recovery operates as a sole-source component supplier in most of the world's large desalination plants, making replacement cycles and retrofits a near-captive revenue stream. The CO2 refrigeration push applies a related hydraulic work-exchange principle to an entirely new value chain, giving the company an asymmetric call option on commercial decarbonization mandates.
General information
Firm type
other
Year founded
1992
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Leandro
Corporate office
San Leandro, CA, United States
Principals
David Moon
President and CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is Energy Recovery's core technology?
The PX Pressure Exchanger is a durable ceramic rotor that transfers pressure from a high-pressure fluid stream to a low-pressure stream at over 94 percent efficiency. It was originally commercialized for seawater reverse-osmosis desalination, where it cuts the plant's energy use by more than half. The same isobaric work-exchange principle now underpins the firm's CO2 refrigeration and industrial wastewater product lines.
Who are Energy Recovery's primary customers?
Large-scale desalination plant operators and engineering, procurement, and construction firms form the historic base. Key installations include the Taweelah plant in Abu Dhabi, the Carlsbad desalination plant in California, and Jebel Ali in Dubai. The newer CO2 refrigeration line targets supermarket chains, cold-storage logistics operators, and industrial cooling users.
Why did Energy Recovery enter the CO2 refrigeration market?
Regulatory mandates in Europe and North America are accelerating the shift away from high-global-warming-potential refrigerants. Transcritical CO2 systems are energy-intensive during warm ambient conditions, and the firm's pressure-exchanger technology recaptures expansion work to offset that energy penalty. Management views this as an avenue for revenue diversification beyond the desalination capex cycle.
Is Energy Recovery still involved in oil and gas?
No. The VorTeq hydraulic fracturing pump project, which sought to place the pressure exchanger inside oilfield high-pressure pumps, was formally discontinued in 2019. Since then the company has refocused entirely on water and industrial fluid-flow applications.
How does Energy Recovery protect its competitive position?
The firm maintains over 138 active U.S. and international patents covering its pressure-exchanger designs and associated systems. In mega-scale seawater desalination plants, the PX device functions as a sole-source component, and replacement cycles combined with the cost of re-engineering plants around alternative devices create a high barrier to switching.
Does Energy Recovery operate as a public or a private company?
Energy Recovery has been publicly traded since 2008 on the Nasdaq under the ticker ERII. As a small-cap industrial company, its shares are held by a mix of institutional investors, ESG-focused funds, and retail shareholders.
What is David Moon's background?
David Moon joined Energy Recovery in 2010 as vice president of corporate development and held roles including CFO before becoming CEO in 2019. He previously worked in corporate finance and strategy roles at publicly traded industrial concerns. Under his tenure the company exited oil-and-gas, returned capital via buybacks, and entered the CO2 refrigeration vertical.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: