What Hydratech does

Hydratech is a UK-based specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1998 and headquartered in Swansea, Wales, operating as a subsidiary of Liquitherm Technologies Group Ltd. The company formulates and manufactures heat transfer fluids, performance-enhancing additives, and inhibitor packages for commercial and industrial closed-loop cooling and heating systems, with named customers including Arla Foods, Coca-Cola, McCain, AstraZeneca, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, atNorth, Vantage, Yondr, Barclays, and Lidl across food & beverage, manufacturing, data center, automotive, pharmaceutical, and facilities management verticals.

The core product portfolio comprises six thermal fluid families (Coolflow, Thermox, Solaris, Thermaflow, Biotherm, Safeguard), each with multiple variants, plus three additive lines (Maxwell nanofluid, Sureflow inhibitors, Purachem biocides and cleaning chemicals). The company's flagship technical platform is the patented DTX hybrid glycol range launched in 2010, which blends ethylene glycol with the patented DeTox™ additive to deliver the thermal efficiency of ethylene glycol with the non-toxicity required for food and beverage applications; Maxwell nanofluid is a separately patented nanoparticle additive claimed to increase heat transfer capacity by up to 15%. ISO 9001 and NSF HT-1 certifications underpin the food-safety positioning. In 2018, Hydratech formed the Hydratech Services Division (HSD) to provide thermal optimization services including fluid monitoring, pre-commissioning, commissioning, and its Delta Squared thermal optimization program.

Hydratech operates a direct sales model branded 'Talk direct, buy direct', with sales engineers, chemists, and analysts providing 24/7 technical consultation to designers, contractors, and end users on a quote-based pricing basis with no disclosed public pricing. Distribution is direct to enterprise customers with no intermediary channels, supported by content marketing via technical articles, case studies, and industry association memberships (Institute of Refrigeration, Cold Chain Federation, GSHPA, CIBSE/ASHRAE, BSRIA, Royal Society of Chemistry). A sister company, DC Cooling Solutions, was established in partnership with Castrol to deliver integrated data center cooling solutions, and a technical partnership with Kensa Heat Pumps specifies Thermox DTX in residential and commercial heat pump installations. The company reports 51–100 employees and operates primarily in the United Kingdom with expanding activity in the United States.

Name

Hydratech

Legal name

Liquitherm Technologies Group Ltd

Website

https://hydratech.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hydratech is a UK-based specialty chemicals manufacturer founded in 1998 that formulates and supplies heat transfer fluids, nanofluid additives, and inhibitor packages for commercial and industrial cooling and heating systems, serving enterprise customers across food & beverage, manufacturing, data center, automotive, pharmaceutical, and facilities management sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Heat Transfer Fluids

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Heat Transfer Fluids (IMAEAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cooling Water Treatment Chemicals (IMAEAJAE)

Keywords

• Heat transfer fluids
• Thermal fluid manufacturing
• Industrial cooling fluids
• Closed-loop system fluids
• Glycol and antifreeze

Headquarters

HQ city

Swansea

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Heat Transfer Fluid Products: Formulation and manufacture of thermal fluids including DTX glycol hybrids, Coolflow, Thermox, Thermaflow, Biotherm, Solaris product lines. Revenue from direct product sales of antifreeze, glycols, and brines.
2. Professional Services: Fluid & Systems Management services including fluid testing, monitoring, pre-commissioning, commissioning, thermal optimization, and planned preventative maintenance (PPM).
3. Performance Additives: Sale of Maxwell nanofluid additives, Sureflow inhibitors, Purachem biocides and cleaning chemicals for fluid enhancement and system maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hydratech formulates and manufactures heat transfer fluids, performance-enhancing additives, and corrosion/scale inhibitors for commercial and industrial closed-loop cooling and heating systems. Its product portfolio spans the Coolflow, Thermox, Solaris, Thermaflow, Biotherm, and Safeguard fluid brands, supplemented by Maxwell nanoparticle additives, Sureflow water treatment chemicals, and Purachem biocides/cleaners. The company also provides fluid testing, pre-commissioning, commissioning, and thermal optimisation engineering services.

Product overview

Hydratech offers a comprehensive portfolio of thermal fluid products organized into core product families (Coolflow, Thermox, Solaris, Thermaflow, Biotherm, Safeguard) with multiple variants in each, plus performance-enhancing additives (Maxwell nanofluid), water treatment chemicals (Sureflow inhibitors, Purachem biocides and cleaners), and engineering services (Fluid Monitoring, Thermal Optimisation). The DTX hybrid glycol technology (Coolflow DTX, Thermox DTX, Thermaflow DTX, Biotherm DTX, Solaris DTX) represents the flagship innovation launched in 2010, combining ethylene glycol efficiency with non-toxic credentials. The product range serves diverse applications including process cooling, refrigeration, HVAC, renewable energy systems, and industrial heating across sectors like food & beverage, manufacturing, power utilities, and facilities management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coolflow: Process cooling and secondary refrigerant fluids including DTX, NTP, IGE, LVF, ECO2, and ECO3 variants
• Thermox
• Solaris
• Thermaflow
• Biotherm
• Safeguard
• Maxwell
• Sureflow
• Purachem
• DTX Glycol Hybrids

Products and services

• Coolflow Process cooling and secondary refrigerant antifreeze fluids available in DTX, NTP, IGE, LVF, ECO2, and ECO3 variants for industrial and commercial cooling and refrigeration applications.
• Thermox Heat transfer fluids with antifreeze function for geothermal, ground source heat pump (GSHP) and air source heat pump (ASHP) systems, available in DTX, FPG, ITF, and FXC2 variants.
• Solaris Extreme temperature rated solar heat transfer fluids with antifreeze function for solar thermal heating systems, available in DTX, DTX20, PGC, and PG20 variants.
• Thermaflow Heat transfer fluids with antifreeze function for low temperature hot water (LTHW) and central heating systems, available in DTX, TPF, CMF, and VT3 variants.
• Biotherm High temperature rated heat transfer fluids with antifreeze function for biomass boiler heating systems, available in DTX, BP8, BE2, and VB4 variants.
• Safeguard Non-toxic antifreeze products for protection of caravan and motorhome wastewater systems, marine craft water systems and engine winter lay-up storage, and hydronic central heating systems.
• Maxwell Nanoparticle additive proven to increase the heat transfer capacity of commercial HVAC, data centre and process cooling systems by up to 15%, non-hazardous and NSF HT-1 classified.
• Sureflow Water treatment chemicals including multi-metal corrosion and scale inhibitors (COR1-COR10), anti-scaling agents (SCA1-SCA2), anti-foaming agents (FOA1-FOA2), and pH correction builders (AB1-AB2) for closed-loop cooling and heating systems.
• Purachem Biocides (BIO1-BIO4) for control of bacteria, algae, and biofilms, plus industrial strength system flush and cleaning chemicals (HSC1-HSC4) including chlorinated, acidic, pH neutral, and solar thermal formulations.
• Fluid Monitoring Program (FMP) Analytical fluid testing service to identify water contaminates, bacterial presence, water treatment levels, and the make-up of elements for closed-loop heating and cooling systems.
• Fluid Treatment Manufacturing of inhibitor formulations and delivery of fluid treatment services to ensure heating and cooling systems run efficiently, including fluid monitoring, system dosing, and system flushing.
• Pre-Commissioning Pipework flushing and conditioning services ensuring closed heating or cooling systems are suitably clean and ready for commissioning, in accordance with BSRIA guidelines.
• Commissioning System commissioning services ensuring cooling and heating systems are safe, clean, conditioned, and ready for operation with precise balancing.
• Delta Squared Thermal Optimisation Thermal optimisation program optimising the thermal interface between heat exchangers and heat transfer fluids, maximising operational lifespan of both.

Quantifiable outcome

• >10% reduction in operating costs when compared with Propylene Glycol based fluids
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DC Cooling SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company of Hydratech and part of Liquitherm Technologies Group. Established to deliver integrated specialist approach to data centre cooling. Combines Castrol ON cooling fluids with Hydratech engineering expertise for primary loop, direct-to-chip and immersion cooling systems.
• CastrolcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership through DC Cooling Solutions for Castrol ON cooling fluids combined with Hydratech engineering expertise for data centre cooling applications.
• Kensa Heat PumpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical partnership for ground source heat pump fluid solutions. Thermox DTX specified by Kensa for residential and commercial heat pump installations.
• Institute of Refrigeration (IOR)minorOthersProfessional body membership and association for refrigeration industry expertise and standards.
• Cold Chain FederationminorOthersIndustry association membership for cold chain expertise and best practices.
• CIBSE/ASHRAEminorOthersProfessional body membership for building services engineering standards and guidelines.
• Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA)minorOthersIndustry association membership for ground source heat pump expertise and standards.
• BSRIAminorOthersProud sponsor of BSRIA BG 50/2021 guide. Work in accordance with BSRIA guidelines for pre-commissioning cleaning.
• Royal Society of ChemistryminorOthersProfessional body membership for chemistry expertise.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Eastman Chemical: Eastman produces the Therminol line of heat transfer fluids used in industrial process heating and cooling across food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and renewable energy applications. Both companies target similar specifications and customer profiles at different scales, making Eastman a broad incumbent peer.
• BASF: BASF manufactures glycol-based heat transfer fluids and corrosion inhibitors for HVAC, district heating, and industrial applications. Its global scale and R&D budget make it a broad incumbent player competing with Hydratech across multiple verticals.
• Clariant: Clariant is a global specialty chemicals company producing heat transfer fluids (Antifrogen) for HVAC, industrial cooling, and food-safety applications. It competes broadly with Hydratech across many of the same verticals including food and beverage and district heating, but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Shell Heat Transfer Oils: Shell produces the S3 / S5 / S6 / S7 / S8 thermal fluid range widely used in industrial process heating. As a global energy major, it competes broadly in the heat transfer fluid market across food, chemical, and renewable energy segments.
• INEOS Energy / INEOS Composites: INEOS is a major global producer of ethylene and propylene glycols used as the base raw materials for heat transfer fluid formulations. While a downstream supplier to Hydratech, it also sells finished glycol antifreeze products and competes for commodity-segment business.
• Petro-Canada (HollyFrontier) Lubricants: Petro-Canada produces the PURITY FG and heat transfer fluid ranges used in food processing and HVAC. It is a peer in the food-safe thermal fluid space where Hydratech's DeTox product line specifically competes.

Emerging players

• Castrol (part of bp): Castrol produces Castrol ON cooling fluids for data centers and immersion cooling, and has an active partnership with Hydratech via DC Cooling Solutions. It overlaps with Hydratech in data center cooling while complementing Hydratech in other segments.

Direct peers

• Schultz Chemical: Schultz Chemical produces specialty heat transfer fluids, glycols, and inhibitors for industrial cooling, heating, and refrigeration. It shares the same specialty chemicals profile and customer use cases as Hydratech.
• Paratherm: Paratherm specializes in heat transfer fluids for process heating and cooling in industries including food, pharmaceutical, plastics, and renewable energy. It mirrors Hydratech's focus on engineered thermal fluid formulations rather than commodity base chemicals.
• Dynalene: Dynalene is a specialty chemical manufacturer focused on heat transfer fluids for HVAC, solar, food processing, and industrial process cooling. Its product positioning and customer use cases closely overlap with Hydratech's Coolflow, Thermox, and Solaris ranges.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hydratech-global

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hydratech