Energy Recovery and Seawater Desalination

140,000 m3/day (37MGD) Desalination Project for Mining Application Contracted to use PX(R) Technology

SAN LEANDRO, Calif., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Energy Recovery, Inc. ("ERI") (Nasdaq: ERII), a global leader of ultra-high-efficiency energy recovery products and technology for desalination, announced that it will supply energy recovery devices for a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination project in Australia. IDE Technologies awarded ERI the energy recovery contract for the 140,000 cubic meters per day (m3/day) (37 million gallons per day (MGD)) facility. The new desalination project adds process and drinking water for a large mine operation in Australia.

IDE Technologies will construct the plant which will utilize ERI's PX Pressure Exchanger(R) (PX(R)) technology as the energy recovery solution for the project. The plant is scheduled for completion in late 2009.

Water is a key component in the mining process. Because the region is subject to extreme drought conditions, a highly efficient desalination system provides an affordable solution both for process requirements and regional drinking consumption. The ERI solution will include PX-220 devices which will save an estimated 16 megawatts of power.

In 2007, ERI was also engaged for a 55,000 m3/day (14.5 MGD) desalination plant for the Trekkopje Uranium project in Namibia, South Africa. That plant is projected to supply an estimated 20 million cubic meters of water per year to the mine. In addition, ERI and IDE Technologies are teaming to provide advanced energy-saving PX technology for the 100 million m3/year Hadera, Israel desalination plant which will be the world's largest such plant when it starts up in 2010.

About ERI(R)

Energy Recovery, Inc. (ERI) is a leading manufacturer of energy recovery devices, which by significantly reducing energy consumption is helping make desalination affordable. ERI's PX Pressure Exchanger(R) technology (PX(R)) is a rotary positive displacement pump that recovers energy from the high pressure waste stream of sea water reverse osmosis systems at up to 98% efficiency with no downtime or scheduled maintenance.

The company has research, development and manufacturing facilities in the San Francisco technology corridor as well as direct sales offices and technical support centers in key desalination hubs such as Madrid, UAE, Shanghai and Florida. ERI service representatives are based in Algeria, Australia, China, India, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan and the Caribbean.

As the demand for clean, potable water increases; ERI is poised to face the global challenges ahead. For more information on ERI and PX technology, please visit www.energyrecovery.com.