Hiperbaric

Hiperbaric is a Spanish manufacturer of industrial high pressure processing (HPP) equipment for the food and beverage industry, and the holder of the largest global market share in HPP machinery. Founded in 1999 by Andrés Hernando in Burgos, Spain, the company grew from an R&D project in a local boilermaking workshop into the world’s leading supplier of food HPP systems, with more than 400 machines installed across 50+ countries as of 2025. Hiperbaric has since diversified into Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) for industrial materials and high-pressure hydrogen compression for the energy sector. Its European headquarters remain in Burgos; its North American operations are based in Miami, Florida.

Company profile

Founding and early development (1999–2009)

Hiperbaric was founded in 1999 by Andrés Hernando as a research and development project within Amahe, a boilermaking workshop in Burgos. The initial goal was to design and manufacture industrial equipment capable of applying high hydrostatic pressure for food processing — at that time a niche and largely unproven commercial technology in Europe.

In 2001 Hiperbaric built its first prototype: a 110-litre pressure vessel rated to 5,000 bar. The following year, in 2002, the company made its first commercial installation — a 300-litre system at Campofrío, a major Spanish cured meat brand — the first HPP machine commercially installed in Spain.

Early milestones:

Products

HPP In-Pack machines

Hiperbaric’s core product range is the HPP In-Pack series: horizontal, batch, wire-wound pressure vessels that treat pre-packaged food in its final retail or food-service packaging. All models operate at a maximum working pressure of 600 MPa (6,000 bar / 87,000 psi). Cold water is used as the pressure-transmitting medium. The packaged product is loaded in carriers, placed inside the vessel, and pressure is applied isostatically — uniformly in all directions — inactivating pathogens and extending shelf life without heat or chemical additives.

Throughput figures are calculated at 60% fill efficiency for the 420 and 525, and approximately 50% for smaller models; actual throughput varies with container geometry and fill rate. The Hiperbaric 420 was the world’s most productive HPP system at the time of its launch and received the IFT Innovation Award in 2008. The Hiperbaric 525 is the largest in-pack vessel offered, with an 18.5 × 4.4 × 4.3 m footprint for the standard layout.

HPP In-Bulk (Bulk) machines

The HPP In-Bulk technology, commercially launched in 2020, processes liquid food products (juices, smoothies, liquid egg, cold brew beverages) in bulk — before packaging — by filling the pressure vessel directly from a tank system. This eliminates the need for pre-packaging before HPP treatment, significantly reducing processing costs for high-volume liquid producers.

The world’s first commercial HPP In-Bulk installation was made in France in January 2020. The 1050 Bulk system combines two 525-litre vessels in tandem and was developed under patent-pending technology.

Key customers and reference installations

Market position

Hiperbaric holds an estimated 65% global market share in the HPP equipment sector (2024) and approximately 80% of the Spanish market. Its installed base surpassed 400 machines in April 2025 (400th installation at Instinct, a US raw pet food company), across 50+ countries and five continents.

In 2025, Hiperbaric set a company record of 30 HPP machine installations in a single year, adding approximately 9,900 litres of total processing capacity globally. Geographic distribution of 2025 installations: approximately 50% in the Americas. By product sector: juices and beverages 37% (11 machines), tolling services 20% (6 machines), meat 17% (5 machines), avocado products 10% (3 machines), seafood 7% (2 machines), fruit and vegetables 7% (2 machines).

Principal competitors in the HPP equipment market include Avure Technologies (a subsidiary of JBT Marel Corporation, USA), Kobelco (Kobe Steel, Japan), and Uhde HPT (Germany).

Technology diversification

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) — since 2019

Hiperbaric began R&D on HIP technology in 2016 and launched its first commercial HIP press — the Hiperbaric 42 HIP — in 2019–2020. HIP applies simultaneous high pressure (up to 2,000 bar) and high temperature (up to 2,000°C) in an inert gas atmosphere to densify metal and ceramic components, eliminating internal porosity. Principal applications include:

• Aerospace and defence castings (titanium, nickel superalloys)
• Medical implants (Ti-6Al-4V orthopaedic and dental components)
• Additive manufacturing (densification of 3D-printed metal parts)
• Nuclear and oil and gas components

Hiperbaric also offers WIP (Warm Isostatic Pressing) and CIP (Cold Isostatic Pressing) configurations. In 2024, the company began building the largest HIP system it has designed to date — a yoke capable of withstanding 35,000 tonnes of force — as part of a €4 million facility expansion in Burgos. Target sales from 2027 onwards: more than €10 million annually from the HIP line.

Hydrogen compression (H2) — since 2021

Hiperbaric launched its high-pressure hydrogen compression business line in 2021, supplying its first unit to CNH2 (Spain’s Centro Nacional del Hidrógeno / National Hydrogen Centre). The first international H2 compressor installation followed in Germany in 2022; four further units were installed in France in 2023. The H2 compressors operate in the 200–1,000 bar range in modular, compact format, targeting green hydrogen storage and vehicle refuelling stations.

Ownership history and financials

The January 2023 ownership restructuring involved the founding and management team regaining majority control (55%) while Alantra reduced its position to 10%. New investors in the 2023 round included INNVIERTE (Spain’s government innovation fund, backed by CDTI), the Caja de Burgos banking foundation, and the family offices of Ginés Clemente and Gerardo Gutiérrez. The company was valued at €267 million at the time of the restructuring.

Revenue grew from approximately €75 million in 2024 to a projected €86 million in 2025 (+12%). The company invests approximately 5% of turnover annually in R&D and holds 10 patents.

Locations

The Miami facility includes a pilot plant and an HPP Incubator — a programme enabling small food companies to validate products at HPP scale before committing to equipment investment. Parts for North American customers are warehoused in Miami with 24-hour shipping.

Tolling network

Hiperbaric supports the development of HPP tolling facilities — contract processing centres where food companies can have their products HPP-treated without owning a machine. As of 2025, Hiperbaric has partnered with tolling operators including:

• American Pasteurization Company (APC), Milwaukee, Wisconsin — one of the largest HPP tolling operations in North America
• Bevara HPP, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina — the first dedicated HPP tolling facility in North Carolina, equipped with a Hiperbaric 300, offering HPP processing, packaging, labelling, cold storage, and logistics
• Sunrise Logistics / Four Seasons Family of Companies, Ephrata, Pennsylvania — Hiperbaric 525 installation (2025)

Awards and recognitions

Hiperbaric is a member of the Cold Pressure Council (CPC), the North American trade association for the HPP food industry. In 2019, Carole Tonello (Hiperbaric’s scientific and applications director) received an individual IFT Award for contributions to the HPP field.

Relationship to pascalisation

Pascalisation — high pressure processing, cold pasteurisation, or high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing — applies isostatic pressure of 400–600 MPa to packaged or bulk food to inactivate pathogens (Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7) and spoilage organisms without heat. Unlike the competing Avure Technologies wire-wound vessel heritage (descended from ASEA/ABB Quintus technology of the 1950s), Hiperbaric developed its vessel engineering independently, beginning from the Amahe boilermaking base in Burgos. Both companies’ systems operate at the same maximum working pressure of 600 MPa.

References

• Hiperbaric company history: hiperbaric.com/en/history
• Hiperbaric product pages: hiperbaric.com/en/hpp-technology/equipment
• PR Newswire (7 October 2025): Hiperbaric record 30 HPP machine installations in 2025
• PR Newswire: Bevara HPP / Hiperbaric partnership, North Carolina tolling facility
• ProFood World: Hiperbaric company profile — profoodworld.com