What Hager + Elsässer does

Hager+Elsässer (H+E Group) is a Stuttgart-headquartered industrial water treatment specialist with over 100 years of operating heritage, founded in 1900 to serve advanced manufacturing industries in Germany. The company designs, supplies, and installs water and effluent treatment systems with particular depth in ultrapure water technologies (ion exchange, electrodeionization, ultraviolet) for semiconductor fabrication and broad industrial wastewater treatment, zero liquid discharge, and water reclamation systems for pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, chemicals, and energy customers. H+E completed an estimated 30,000 reference installations globally and historically generated revenue through direct enterprise field sales of capital equipment and associated services to large industrial customers across Europe and Asia.

In October 2023, H+E Group was acquired by Gradiant Corporation, an MIT-founded water technology company headquartered in Delaware with operations spanning North America, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, Oceania, and the Middle East. Following the acquisition, H+E's website redirects to Gradiant and the business is fully integrated under the Gradiant brand, contributing its ultrapure water and European semiconductor customer base to Gradiant's broader technology portfolio. The combined platform now spans Gradiant-developed solutions including HyperSolved (cooling water for AI data centers), ProtiumSource (electrolyzer-ready water for green hydrogen), ForeverGone (PFAS removal and destruction, named TIME Best Invention 2024), alkaLi (direct lithium extraction spin-out), and CURE Chemicals custom formulations, alongside H+E's historical IX/EDI/UV ultrapure water stack. Revenue is generated through capital equipment sales, long-term service contracts, and chemical consumables, with pricing and commercial frameworks now managed under Gradiant's global operating structure. Gradiant announced a Series E financing in May 2026 at a $2 billion valuation and is preparing for a potential IPO.

Name

Hager + Elsässer

Legal name

Gradiant Corporation

Website

https://he-water.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1900

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hager+Elsässer designs and installs ultrapure water and wastewater treatment systems for semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and industrial customers. With 100+ years of Stuttgart heritage and 30,000 installations, H+E was acquired by Gradiant in October 2023 and is now fully integrated under the Gradiant brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Water Treatment Systems

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (333310), Automatic Environmental Control Manufacturing for Residential, Commercial, and Appliance Use (334512)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Water Reuse Utilities (ZLD/MLD & Process Water Recycling) (EUANAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Desalination Plant EPC, O&M & Performance Optimization (EUANAFAK)

Keywords

• Industrial water treatment
• Ultrapure water systems
• Wastewater treatment solutions
• Semiconductor water systems
• Zero liquid discharge

Headquarters

HQ city

Horsham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Water Treatment Solutions and Services: H+E Group historically generated revenue through the sale of industrial water treatment systems, wastewater treatment solutions, and related services to semiconductor, pharmaceutical, food & beverage, and other advanced manufacturing industries. Following its acquisition by Gradiant in October 2023, revenue is now consolidated under Gradiant's financial structure.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

H+E Group (Hager+Elsässer) designs, supplies, and installs industrial water and wastewater treatment systems for advanced manufacturing industries. The company is a domain specialist in ultrapure water systems for semiconductor manufacturing and provides integrated industrial wastewater treatment, zero liquid discharge, and resource recovery solutions. Since October 2023, H+E operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Gradiant Corporation, fully integrated under the Gradiant brand.

Product overview

Gradiant (including H+E - Gradiant, formerly Hager+Elsässer) offers a comprehensive suite of differentiated and proprietary end-to-end solutions for advanced water and wastewater treatment. The portfolio includes HyperSolved (cooling water for AI Data Centers), ProtiumSource (electrolyzer-ready water for green hydrogen), ForeverGone (PFAS removal and destruction), and the alkaLi spin-out (direct lithium extraction). Supporting technologies include RO Infinity, Bio Infinity, SmartOps AI, Selective Contaminant Extraction (SCE), Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE), and Free Radical Oxidation (FRO), combined with CURE Chemicals custom formulations. The H+E acquisition (October 2023) brought over 100 years of European expertise and 30,000 installations, strengthening Gradiant's ultrapure water capabilities for semiconductors. Solutions cover industrial wastewater recycling, ultrapure water, minimum/zero liquid discharge, resource recovery, and PFAS remediation across semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, lithium, and renewable energy industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HyperSolved: Cooling water solution for AI Data Centers
• CURE Chemicals
• ForeverGone
• ProtiumSource
• alkaLi

Products and services

• Ultrapure Water Systems High-purity water treatment systems engineered for semiconductor and advanced manufacturing facilities, integrating ion exchange (IX), electrodeionization (EDI), and ultraviolet (UV) technologies to meet stringent water purity specifications.
• Industrial Wastewater & Recycling Comprehensive wastewater treatment and recycling systems for industrial customers, enabling water reclamation, reuse, and resource recovery across pharmaceutical, food & beverage, chemicals, energy, and semiconductor sectors.
• Minimum & Zero Liquid Discharge (MLD and ZLD) Engineered systems to minimize or eliminate liquid discharge from industrial operations, converting wastewater into reusable freshwater and enabling compliance with environmental discharge regulations.
• Resource Recovery & Lithium Engineered solutions for recovering valuable resources, including lithium, from industrial wastewater and brine streams, supporting circular economy and battery supply chain applications.
• PFAS & Emerging Contaminants Treatment Treatment systems for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants in municipal and industrial water supplies, combining Micro-Foam Fractionation and Destruction Engine technologies to permanently remove and destroy PFAS 'forever chemicals'.
• ProtiumSource (Electrolyzer-Ready Water for Green Hydrogen) Electrolyzer-ready water treatment solution for green hydrogen producers. Feedwater-agnostic, generates zero liquid discharge, and operates with renewable energy at industry-leading efficiency.
• HyperSolved (Cooling Water for AI Data Centers) Comprehensive cooling water solution for AI and HPC data centers, designed to support the high water demands of data center cooling infrastructure.
• CURE Chemicals Custom chemical formulations for water treatment applications including corrosion inhibitors, scale inhibitors, process chemicals, biocides, antiscalants and cleaners, coagulants and flocculants.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000 successful project installations worldwide

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Gradiant CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2023Gradiant Corporation acquired H+E Group (Hager+Elsässer) in October 2023, integrating H+E's extensive ultrapure water and wastewater treatment expertise with Gradiant's broader portfolio of end-to-end water solutions. The acquisition represents H+E's first footprint in Europe for Gradiant and strengthens Gradiant's position in the semiconductor and industrial water markets globally.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gradiant Corporation: H+E's parent company and direct peer in industrial water treatment. Operates the same end-to-end water and wastewater portfolio (ultrapure water, ZLD, PFAS, lithium, hydrogen) and serves the same semiconductor and industrial customers, with H+E now embedded as its European/semiconductor arm.
• Ovivo: Pure-play industrial water treatment company specializing in ultrapure water and wastewater for semiconductor, microelectronics, and pharmaceutical customers—directly comparable niche focus to H+E Group.
• Aquatech International: Specializes in industrial water treatment including ultrapure water for semiconductor fabs and zero liquid discharge systems, mirroring H+E's core capabilities and target customer segments.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Water Technologies: Global leader in water treatment and EPC with hubs in Europe and Asia. Competes directly with H+E in ultrapure water for semiconductors and industrial wastewater, with much broader geographic and financial scale.
• SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions: Major global water technology provider offering ultrapure water, wastewater treatment, and chemicals across industrial verticals. Direct competitor for H+E's semiconductor and industrial water treatment projects.
• Ecolab (Nalco Water): Industrial water and process chemicals provider with a strong position in water treatment chemicals and on-site service across semiconductors, food & beverage, and manufacturing—directly comparable to H+E's CURE Chemicals and water treatment solutions.
• Kurita Water Industries: Japanese industrial water treatment specialist with ultrapure water and chemicals for semiconductor and electronics customers. Highly comparable to H+E on semiconductor ultrapure water, with strong Asian presence.
• Xylem (Evoqua): Global water technology company; merged with Evoqua in 2023 to form a major industrial water treatment competitor. Provides treatment systems, services, and chemicals across similar end markets to H+E.
• DuPont Water Solutions: Major supplier of water purification and separation technologies (RO, IX, UF) used in industrial water treatment and ultrapure water systems—a component-level competitor for H+E's IX/EDI/RO-based solutions.
• Toray Industries (Water Treatment): Provides RO, UF, and MF membranes used in industrial water and ultrapure water systems, with strong presence in semiconductor fabs in Asia. Comparable to H+E's IX/EDI/UV/RO-based ultrapure water technology stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Gradiant_Corp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@gradiantcorp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sh-e-uk-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/gradiantcorp
• Facebookfacebook.com/GradiantCorporation

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 Hager + Elsässer