Nov 2, 2026
Project Aurora is exceeding performance metrics and running autonomously. Unlike other batch pilots or indirect lithium transfers, Aurora is a direct, wellhead-connected, continuous-flow, fully automated DLE-based demo plant that combines EMP Metal’s leading Canadian lithium brine resource and horizontal lithium well with Saltworks’ patented Generation-II direct lithium extraction (DLE) lithium-refining flow sheet.
The project is providing valuable data to prove durability, lower processing costs, and increase lithium purity and recovery relative to conventional DLE-based lithium refining systems. Leveraging the valuable and extensive automation and data, coupled with direct wellhead connection learnings, Saltworks has filed four additional patent applications since start-up, demonstrating the value of real, fully integrated wellhead continuous-flow operations.
The foundational Generation-II patent and digitally optimized lithium brine-to-battery-chemical system slashes downstream processing costs by boosting lithium chloride purity to over 90% at the DLE exit through a novel processing method utilizing off-the-shelf components and advanced materials. The same process elements are already built into Saltworks’ full-scale industrial desalination plants and manufactured today at scale for the company’s industrial desalination projects.
Overseeing Aurora’s operations is Saltworks’ HydraOS intelligent plant operating system, transforming conventional process control into a continuously learning and optimizing “thinking machine.” Saltworks’ HydraOS and RoboSense ion-specific sampler digitally integrate and optimize the entire system, with the plant achieving ‘lights-out’ unattended continuous-flow autonomous operation in October.
HydraOS was developed to intelligently integrate and optimize multiple unit operations harmoniously while maximizing recovery, uptime, and operating efficiency. Saltworks’ RoboSense technology delivers automated, real-time ion-specific measurements, providing critical process data to inform operational adjustments and optimize lithium recovery. By combining intelligent automation, advanced sensing, and advanced process control, Aurora demonstrates Saltworks’ approach to developing increasingly autonomous process plants that adapt to changing conditions, reduce labor constraints, and improve operational performance.
These developments reflect the untapped potential for lithium in North America and why off-site batch pilots with less automation hold back innovation that drives down capital cost intensity and genuine commercial de-risking. Project Aurora represents an important step towards commercial lithium development in Saskatchewan.
The Saskatchewan lithium basin is set to become Canada’s most competitive lithium production opportunity, which can scale to over 100,000 TPA production across the southeast of the province. Saskatchewan already leads in global potassium chloride production (33% of global output), leveraging its geological advantage of clean salt in the ground, solution mining capabilities, excellent surface infrastructure, and low-cost power. All the above align with competitive lithium chloride production, which can be converted to battery chemicals.
Project Aurora was catalyzed by early R&D support from Natural Resources Canada’s Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program.
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.