Dividend Power Score
A single, comprehensive score designed to measure the true strength of a company’s dividend.
This score combines three essential pillars of dividend quality:
Consistency – Measures how reliable the dividend has been over time, focusing on payment history, stability, and the absence of cuts or suspensions.
Payability – Assesses the company’s financial ability to sustain its dividend, taking into account cash flow, earnings coverage, balance sheet strength, and overall financial health.
Growth – Evaluates the long-term growth of both the dividend and the company’s share price, highlighting businesses that consistently increase payouts while creating shareholder value.
Higher scores identify companies that have historically delivered dependable income alongside sustained dividend growth and long-term capital appreciation.
Company Overview
Energy Recovery, Inc. is a technology company that designs and manufactures industrial equipment focused on improving energy efficiency in fluid flow systems. The company primarily operates in the water desalination, industrial wastewater, oil & gas, and industrial refrigeration industries. Its core business is based on proprietary pressure exchanger technology that reduces energy consumption and operating costs in high-pressure fluid processes.
The company’s primary revenue driver is the sale of its pressure exchanger devices, most notably the PX® Pressure Exchanger product line, which is widely used in seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants. Energy Recovery serves municipal water authorities, industrial water operators, engineering procurement and construction firms, and industrial system integrators. Founded in the early 1990s, the company initially focused on desalination efficiency and later expanded its technology into adjacent industrial applications, evolving into a publicly traded energy efficiency technology provider.
Business Operations
Energy Recovery operates through two main business segments: Water and Energy. The Water segment generates the majority of revenue and focuses on desalination and wastewater treatment applications, where the company’s pressure exchanger technology recovers hydraulic energy that would otherwise be wasted. The Energy segment applies similar technology to industrial markets such as oil & gas processing, chemical production, and CO₂-based refrigeration systems.
The company conducts sales globally, with manufacturing and engineering operations primarily based in the United States and additional operational support in international markets. Energy Recovery controls its core intellectual property, including patented pressure exchanger designs, and sells systems directly as well as through EPC partners. The company operates primarily through Energy Recovery, Inc. and does not rely heavily on joint ventures, though it maintains strategic commercial relationships with global desalination system builders.
Strategic Position & Investments
Energy Recovery’s strategy centers on expanding adoption of its pressure exchanger technology beyond desalination into broader industrial energy efficiency applications. Growth initiatives include increased penetration in industrial wastewater reuse, CO₂ refrigeration for cold storage and food logistics, and selective oil & gas processing applications where energy recovery provides measurable cost savings.
The company has historically favored internal research and development over large-scale acquisitions, investing heavily in product development to adapt its core technology to new markets. Notable investments include continued development of next-generation PX devices and expansion of its CO₂ refrigeration platform, which is positioned as a lower-emissions alternative to traditional refrigerants. Public disclosures indicate no material acquisition-driven growth strategy, and the company’s portfolio remains focused on organic expansion.
Geographic Footprint
Energy Recovery is headquartered in San Leandro, California, and operates globally through sales, engineering, and service activities. Its largest end markets are in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, regions with significant desalination infrastructure investment. The company also serves customers in North America, particularly in industrial water reuse and emerging refrigeration applications.
Internationally, Energy Recovery’s technology is deployed in desalination plants across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China, and India, among others. While manufacturing is primarily U.S.-based, the company maintains a global commercial presence through regional offices and representatives to support international projects and long-term customer relationships.
Leadership & Governance
Energy Recovery was founded by William “Bill” Dahl, who played a key role in developing the company’s core pressure exchanger technology. The current leadership team emphasizes disciplined capital allocation, technology leadership, and expansion into adjacent high-efficiency industrial markets, with a strategic focus on long-term sustainable growth.
Key executives include:
- David W. Rebert – President and Chief Executive Officer
- Peter Richardson – Chief Financial Officer
- Rodney Clemente – Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
- Bahi Ajami – Senior Vice President, Water