Jun 17, 2026
Saltworks Technologies and EMP Metals are nearing substantial mechanical completion of Project Aurora’s breakthrough demonstration plant in Saskatchewan, Canada. Project Aurora will operate on EMP Metals’ pioneering horizontal lithium well, which intersects a 200+ mg/L lithium resource, among the highest-concentration lithium brines discovered in Canada.
Saskatchewan’s clean and vast lithium brines benefit from no H2S, reduced impurities, shallow and low-cost drilling, excellent infrastructure, and a supportive jurisdiction. Saltworks will maintain Aurora as a long-term demonstration and optimization plant, located in Saskatchewan, while offering its second-generation lithium refining technology globally.
Project Aurora was established to address key industry challenges, particularly the commercialization of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology in North America, which has thus far been held back by economics, market conditions, and a lack of reliable long‑term operating data. EMP Metals has been an important partner in Project Aurora, providing leadership in exploration and well development, land, stakeholder relations, building delivery, and a reliable high-quality lithium brine source.
Prior to Aurora, Saltworks spent years testing and designing plants based around conventional DLE systems, observing firsthand the inefficiencies, complexity, costs, and supply chain constraints embedded in traditional refining approaches. During the lithium market downturn of 2024 and 2025, Saltworks accelerated development of its innovative, simplified, and lower‑cost second generation lithium refining flow sheet. The result was a novel configuration, built from off-the-shelf unit operations and components, that substantially boosts lithium chloride purity, total system recovery and concentration, and thereby is set to materially reduce net processing costs.
The Gen‑II technology was developed with minimization and optimization in mind. Specifically minimizing capital intensity, entropy generation, lithium losses, chemicals, and labor. The process avoids the need for chemical softening and traditional ion exchange and minimizes chelating ion exchange final polish steps—unit operations that can be net negative to process economics and scavenge lithium yields.
The flow sheet was designed around Saltworks’ full-scale modularized industrialized water plants, used in complex semiconductor wastewater processing. This includes Saltworks’ high‑performance Xtract sorption / IX platform, functioning as DLE, which maximizes adsorbent utilization and capacity. The company applies an open-source, DLE adsorbent and membrane-agnostic approach to deliver an optimized and supply‑chain‑flexible total flow sheet, integrating off-the-shelf adsorbents and membranes within Saltworks’ industry-leading modular and intelligently automated technology platforms.
Saltworks has produced technical‑ and battery‑grade lithium carbonate employing the Gen-II process and ran comparative FEED studies using installed cost and performance data from the company’s industrialized full-scale plants. Aurora will become a direct wellhead-connected continuous flow long-term demonstration plant, providing a platform to tune Saltworks’ HydraOS intelligent plant operating system and RoboSense for real‑time lithium recovery optimization.
Further details on Saltworks’ complete full-scale modularized lithium plant offering, high efficiency Xtract-DLE, and intelligent plant operating system will be released in the future. These same technologies are already being produced at full scale for the world’s largest semiconductor operations.
Project Aurora’s goal is not to deliver the first or the largest DLE system straight out of the gate, but rather an intelligent, modernized, lowest-total-cost complete system with a proven delivery model that ensures DLE projects land on the left side of the cost curve.
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 Technologies has expanded its advanced manufacturing operations by 70,000 square feet in Richmond, British Columbia due to increased demand of large-scale systems driven by the semiconductor, data center, and critical mineral industries.
EMP Metals Corp., Saltworks Technologies’ project partner on Project Aurora, has been awarded $1 million in funding from the Government of British Columbia’s Integrated Marketplace (IM) program, delivered by Innovate BC, as part of its recently announced Mining & Critical Minerals Testbed.
Saltworks launches SaltMaker MVR-30, doubling evaporation capacity to 30 TPH with patented intelligent automation for reliable ZLD and low maintenance.
Saltworks introduces its second-generation Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, featuring a unique double-DLE process that delivers 90% eluate purity and cuts capital costs by over 25%. Built on a patented design using alumina adsorbents and pressurized membranes, the system has undergone extensive trials and optimization.