Energy Recovery has secured five new industrial wastewater projects across India, marking a milestone in the company’s expansion within one of the world’s fastest-growing water reuse markets. The projects span the textile, photovoltaic manufacturing, steel and petrochemical refining industries, reflecting growing demand for energy-efficient wastewater treatment as industrial water reuse accelerates across the country.
The projects will deploy multiple Pressure Exchanger (PX) energy recovery devices in industrial reverse osmosis (RO) plants designed for zero-liquid discharge (ZLD), an advanced wastewater treatment process that enables industrial facilities to recover and reuse water while eliminating liquid waste. Although ZLD systems address water scarcity, they are also highly energy-intensive. Energy Recovery’s PX technology reduces electricity consumption by recovering and reusing hydraulic pressure within the RO process, helping operators lower operating costs and carbon emissions.
India’s growing focus on water reuse comes amid mounting pressure on its freshwater resources. Despite being home to nearly 18% of the world’s population, the country has only 4% of global freshwater resources, with water demand projected to exceed available supply by 2030.
“India is rapidly embracing water reuse and ZLD, making energy efficiency a critical priority for industrial operators,” said David Kim-Hak, vice-president of wastewater at Energy Recovery. “These five new projects demonstrate the increasing confidence customers have in our PX technology to improve plant performance, reduce operating costs and support long-term sustainability goals.”
Collectively, the five projects represent approximately 30,000m³/day of new wastewater treatment capacity. With these latest wins, Energy Recovery’s PX technology now supports more than 50 industrial wastewater projects across India, representing over 230,000m³/day of wastewater treatment capacity nationwide.
Building on more than three decades of innovation in pressure exchanger technology, Energy Recovery continues to help industrial customers improve operational efficiency while advancing sustainable water management. Its PX devices are said to operate at up to 99% efficiency with a single moving part, providing reliable, low-maintenance energy recovery for RO systems.