New Energy Recovery Product Delivers Greater Efficiency and Sustainability in Industrial Wastewater Treatment – The Ultra PX™

Energy Recovery Announces Second Contract for the Ultra PX

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — February 3, 2021 — Energy Recovery (NASDAQ: ERII) today announced its second contract award for the Company’s new Ultra PX™ energy recovery device, which will support the industrial wastewater treatment operations of a natural gas plant in the Sichuan Province of China. Energy Recovery previously announced during the Company’s Q3 2020 earnings conference call its first Ultra PX contract to support the operations of a chemical manufacturer in central India. That project has shipped and is scheduled for commissioning by Q2 2021.

Energy Recovery’s Ultra PX is designed to dramatically reduce the energy needs, costs and environmental impacts associated with treating industrial wastewater in Ultra High-Pressure Reverse Osmosis (“UHPRO”) applications. The Ultra PX recovers up to 60 percent of wasted energy when applied to UHPRO systems.

UHPRO is increasingly used to achieve Zero Liquid Discharge (“ZLD”) and Minimal Liquid Discharge (“MLD”) industrial wastewater treatment requirements, which seek to eliminate or minimize wastewater discharge by purifying and recycling heavily concentrated industrial waste fluids. Many governments – particularly in Asia – are focused on improving water sustainability, mandating ZLD or MLD requirements for industrial wastewater treatment. Energy Recovery’s Ultra PX can enable the accelerated adoption of UHPRO in the growing ZLD and MLD market as it develops globally and in Asia.

“As governments across the globe increase their focus on water conservation and protecting water quality, they are establishing more stringent requirements for industrial wastewater treatment,” said Robert Mao, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Recovery. “As the need for industrial wastewater treatment grows, the energy efficiency of these operations is becoming increasingly important. With the Ultra PX, our core pressure exchanger technology is tackling water quality and scarcity issues in a new way, while providing significant cost and energy usage reductions to our customers in this exciting new market.”

In traditional ZLD and MLD configurations, up to fifty percent of costs typically come from cost- and energy-intensive thermal treatments. ZLD and MLD systems that adopt UHPRO can potentially realize significant cost savings by lowering the energy intensity of treating industrial waste fluids. Energy Recovery’s Ultra PX enhances the efficiency and affordability of the UHPRO process versus a UHPRO system with no energy recovery device.

“Our technology is well-positioned to address the major pain points in the industrial wastewater UHPRO space: energy intensity and environmental impacts. We are confident our Ultra PX can help make UHPRO the preferred treatment option to achieve ZLD and MLD requirements, just as our PX® Pressure Exchanger® transformed the desalination industry by making Seawater Reverse Osmosis desalination an affordable and energy efficient alternative to thermal desalination,” said Rodney Clemente, Energy Recovery’s Senior Vice President of Water. “We are excited to apply our trusted technology to new markets that can dramatically benefit from increased energy efficiency.”

The Ultra PX can be paired with Energy Recovery’s new Ultra High-Pressure circulation pump for maximum system performance. Product details are available on Energy Recovery’s website: http://www.energyrecovery.com/water/ultra-px/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including the Company’s belief that the Ultra PX can enable the accelerated adoption of UHPRO in the ZLD and MLD market and that the Ultra PX can help make UHPRO the preferred treatment option to achieve ZLD and MLD requirements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and on management’s beliefs, assumptions, estimates, or projections and are not guarantees of future events or results. Potential risks and uncertainties and any other factors that may have been discussed herein regarding the risks and uncertainties of the Company’s business, and the risks discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the year ended December 31, 2019 as well as other reports filed by the Company with the SEC from time to time. Because such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, the Company’s actual results may differ materially from the predictions in these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of today, and the Company assumes no obligation to update such statements.

About Energy Recovery

For more than 20 years, Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII) has created technologies that solve complex challenges in industrial fluid-flow markets. We design and manufacture solutions that reduce waste, improve operational efficiencies, and lower the production costs of clean water and oil and gas. What began as a game-changing invention for water desalination has grown into a global business delivering solutions that enable more affordable access to these critical resources. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Energy Recovery has manufacturing, research, and development facilities across California and Texas. In addition, our worldwide sales and technical service organization provides on-site support for our line of water solutions. For more information, please visit www.energyrecovery.com.