Litus Launches Pilot for Innovative Lithium Extraction Technology
Calgary-based nanotechnology company Litus has announced that its lithium extraction pilot is now operational, marking a significant milestone in the lithium market. The successful scale-up is expected to unlock vast, untapped energy resources in North America and Europe, according to the company. This achievement follows the opening of its patented nanomaterial production facility in Calgary late last year.
"We are thrilled our pilot is up and running," said Litus CEO Ghada Nafie. "Creating this pilot has been a vision since we founded the company, and now, we have validated the scale-up. We are already testing brines and extracting lithium."
The pilot utilizes Litus LiNC, a unique technology that efficiently extracts lithium from low-concentration brines found in North America and Europe—sources previously considered uneconomical. With a recovery rate of 99.5% and the ability to work in brines with lithium concentrations as low as 30 ppm, Litus LiNC is capable of extracting lithium at unprecedented rates.
The Litus pilot is designed as a plug-and-play modular unit that can integrate into existing infrastructure with minimal requirements for water and energy. The process extracts lithium within hours, producing a product pure enough for direct use in battery production without the need for additional processing. The unit is also transportable and can be easily scaled up for commercial deployment.
The nanotechnology behind Litus's solution involves a custom-made formula tailored to each brine type. To ensure stable supply chains, Litus has established the capacity to produce up to 5 kg of nanomaterial per day at its Calgary facility.
