Energy Recovery Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII), the leader in harnessing reusable energy from industrial fluid flows and pressure cycles, today announced that ACCIONA Agua has chosen Energy Recovery to provide its premium PX® Q line of energy recovery devices for the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Fujairah 1 Expansion desalination project.  With the PX Q technology, the plant will conserve 83,000 metric tons of CO₂ per year – amounting to 140 million kWh of energy savings and over US$14 million in cost savings annually.

The project involves the Emirates SembCorp Water & Power Company, a public-private company made up of the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and Singapore’s SembCorp water and energy utility who awarded the contract to ACCIONA Agua and Infrastructure.  Fujairah 1 Expansion or F1, is the longest running hybrid seawater desalination plant in the Middle East, combining thermal and reverse osmosis technologies. This project will increase water production by 136,500 m³/day totaling the plant’s production capacity to 592,000m3/day.[1]  Considering that water scarcity in the UAE and in the MENA region will continue to be a pressing issue, this project could not be happening at a better time.  MENA is home to 6.3 percent of the world’s population but has access to only 1.4 percent of the world’s renewable fresh water.

According to UAE and Integrated Water and Power Plant regulations, the F1 design specifications included a ‘not-to-exceed’ maximum power consumption limit and only Energy Recovery’s isobaric PX Q solution fits this requirement.  In choosing Energy Recovery’s PX Q technology, ACCIONA’s objectives were two-fold:  to lower the power consumption of water production for the end-user and to reduce the physical footprint of the energy recovery device trains.  When the original plant was first built in 2003, legacy Pelton technology was chosen.  Now that Fujairah 1 is expanding the facility, the new plant will use an isobaric design, allowing the end-user to produce water at net-lower power consumption.

“Energy Recovery has a long-standing reputation as a premium partner in the UAE and the MENA region. We want to be vigilant with the specifications of the plant and the PX Q solution gives us the security we need to fulfill the required project guarantees,” explained Manuel Manjón, International Construction Director for ACCIONA Agua and Project Manager for the F1 Expansion.

Located in Qidfa, Fujairah, this project is one of several that will come online throughout the next decade, after many years of delays in the Persian Gulf region due to the global financial crisis.  Since 2012, many projects in the region’s largest economies including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Oman have rekindled activity. In fact, the UAE recently announced a 51 million dirham (or US$14 billion) investment plan for water treatment plants for the next four years.[2]

“It’s thrilling to be a part of the UAE’s push to advance the hybridization and technology advancements of desalination plants – and to be on the forefront of huge growth in the region.  From reducing capital costs and lowering carbon emissions, the companies leading the F1 Expansion effort understand the economic and environmental benefits of this method,” states Tom Rooney, CEO of Energy Recovery.

Additional Project Details

For an animated video showing how the PX device works, click here.

See 3D video of the Fujairah plant here>

About Energy Recovery

Energy Recovery Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII) technology harvests power from high-pressure fluid flows and pressure cycles.  Through collaboration with industry, Energy Recovery helps make industrial processes within water, oil & gas, and other industries more profitable and environmentally sustainable.  With over 14,000 energy recovery devices installed worldwide, Energy Recovery sets the standard for engineering excellence, cost savings, and technical services to clients across the globe.  Year after year, the company’s clean technologies save clients over $1.2 Billion (USD) in energy costs.  Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Energy Recovery has offices in Madrid, Shanghai, and Dubai.  www.energyrecovery.com