The technology helps evaporation ponds produce more minerals by using more sunlight, making it faster and easier to get lithium, nitrate, and potash.
Originating from research at Princeton University, a startup is changing the way lithium and other materials—such as nitrate and potash—are extracted, replacing methods that have remained in use for decades.
The company, Princeton Critical Minerals (formerly PureLi), emerged from Princeton’s ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship. It has developed a technology to increase mineral output from evaporation ponds, which account for about 40% of global lithium production and most naturally occurring nitrate.
The technology is a black disc with an anti-fouling coating that floats on the surface of evaporation ponds. It increases the amount of sunlight converted to thermal energy, speeding up the evaporation process and mineral production.
In field pilot tests at evaporation ponds in northern Chile, the team—working with chemical company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM)—found that their technology increased evaporation rates by 40% to 122%, depending on the brine composition in each pond.
Since the technology improves the efficiency of existing ponds, the PCM team noted it could reduce the need to build additional ponds, which often cover large areas, to meet rising global demand for lithium and other minerals used in energy systems and agriculture. New projects could also be built on a smaller scale, using less land and minimizing environmental impact.
Following successful fundraising and multiple pilot demonstrations in northern Chile, PCM has entered the early phase of commercialization. While the projects with SQM confirmed the technology’s technical and economic viability, Ren noted they also raised new research questions for his lab at Princeton.
One observation was that Lilypad-enhanced ponds held higher temperatures at the surface, with less heat reaching the bottom, unlike the more uniform temperature distribution seen in open ponds. Since temperature affects mineral solubility, these findings have prompted further investigation into brine chemistry to improve the evaporation process.
