Oct 15, 2025
Saltworks is pleased to announce the release of its second-generation Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology.
The generation II DLE technology introduces a unique ’double DLE’ process that boosts eluate purity to 90% and lowers CapEx by over 25%. This breakthrough is enabled by a novel arrangement of off-the-shelf DLE alumina adsorbents and pressurized membranes, first disclosed in Saltworks’ 2022 patent filing. The technology has been undergoing extensive trials and optimization.
While adding a second DLE may seem like a cost increase, the DLE systems are smaller when coupled with a unique membrane hybrid concentration and refining system. Total system costs are substantially lower thanks to the higher purity achieved upstream in DLE.
The Gen-II DLE process is particularly well-suited for hub-and-spoke operations, where higher-purity eluate enables significant lithium chloride concentration gains prior to shipment to a central conversion hub, without concerns of sodium chloride precipitation. In addition, the chemical-free spokes operate without the need for chemical softening or ion exchange, thereby reducing chemical inputs, waste generation, and the associated lithium losses common in some flow sheets.
The packages leverage Saltworks’ existing commercial scale engineering, production, and modularization systems, with the DLE system built from the company’s Xtract modular sorption and ion exchange platform technology. The Gen-II DLE will be the centerpiece of Project Aurora’s wellhead-connected demonstration plant, delivered in partnership with EMP Metals.
Saltworks has a family of patents protecting this configuration, coupled with low-cost proprietary modular designs and advanced process control systems.
The company’s Gen-II DLE process can be integrated downstream of a third-party DLE system or provided entirely by Saltworks’ proven industrialized equipment. This flexibility, combined with patented architecture and industrial readiness, positions Gen-II DLE as a leap forward for lithium projects seeking scalable and cost-effective solutions.
Contact our expert engineers to explore how Gen-II DLE can support your lithium brine project.
Saltworks Technologies is a leader in the development and delivery of solutions for industrial wastewater treatment and lithium refining. By working with customers to understand their unique challenges and focusing on continuous innovation, Saltworks’ solutions provide best-in-class performance and reliability. From its headquarters in Richmond, BC, Canada, Saltworks’ team designs, builds, and operates full-scale plants, and offers comprehensive onsite and offsite testing services with its fleet of mobile pilots.
Saltworks brings water mining expertise and advanced desalination technologies to our lithium clients, offering solutions for concentrating, refining, and converting low-grade lithium sources to battery-grade product. We offer higher purity and lower energy processing technology, that boosts yield, removes unit operations, and reduces cost.
Saltworks launches FusionRO, a hybrid UHP RO/NF membrane brine concentrator that achieves >220,000 mg/L TDS. Built on UHP RO and NF, FusionRO offers a lower-cost, scalable, and smaller footprint solution, minimizing the cost and size of downstream thermal treatment.
In 2024, Saltworks focused on installing full-scale lithium recovery systems in battery plants while developing novel solutions the lithium extractive industry needs. In the extractive space, Saltworks focused on enabling lower-cost direct lithium extraction (DLE) through robust and cost-effective methods to pre-condition upstream of DLE and to concentrate, refine, and convert (CRC) DLE eluates into battery chemicals.
Saltworks Technologies is proud to announce the kickoff of Project Aurora alongside EMP Metals Corp. Project Aurora is an integrated effort to increase the competitiveness of a lithium brine-to-battery chemicals supply chain in Canada.