Smarter systems for producing lithium and critical minerals from brines.
Photo credit: SQM, via Princeton University
Princeton Critical Minerals is a Princeton University spinout developing technologies for producing lithium and other critical minerals from brines. Founded in 2023 as PureLi by environmental engineer Sunxiang “Sean” Zheng and Princeton professor Zhiyong “Z. Jason” Ren, the company operates from Newark, New Jersey, with a South American operations center in Antofagasta, Chile, through its PureLi SpA subsidiary.
Its first commercial platform, Lilypad, consists of coated floating devices placed directly on conventional evaporation ponds. The floats capture solar energy at the water’s surface to accelerate brine concentration without constructing additional ponds. Princeton Critical Minerals is also developing SmartPond, which combines sensors, drone surveys, and AI forecasting for pond management, and E-LiTE, a modular fiber-based system intended to recover lithium from dilute brines and produced water.
Lilypad progressed from prototypes to field pilots with SQM in northern Chile, where published results reported 40%–122% higher evaporation than uncovered comparison ponds depending on brine chemistry. In 2026, the company reported integrating Lilypad into commercial evaporation ponds at an operating Chilean site. SmartPond remained in field testing, E-LiTE remained under grant-funded development, and proposed U.S. commercial deployments had not yet been reported as completed.
Princeton Critical Minerals initially targets evaporation ponds already in operation. Faster solar evaporation could shorten production cycles and reduce the additional pond area and construction that a producer might otherwise require to expand capacity. SmartPond is intended to improve measurement and transfer timing, while E-LiTE targets dilute brines and oil-and-gas produced water that are generally uneconomic to process, potentially recovering minerals from an industrial waste stream.
These benefits remain partly prospective. Lilypad accelerates evaporation but does not recover evaporated water, and Princeton Critical Minerals has not published a product-level life-cycle assessment, commercial lithium-output data, or a site-wide water balance. E-LiTE recovery, water, land, and energy figures are company claims or grant targets rather than demonstrated commercial performance. Outcomes will depend on brine chemistry, climate, pond operations, energy use, and the scale and durability of each installation.
Field demonstrations with SQM in northern Chile reported 40%–122% higher evaporation than uncovered comparison ponds and more than 96% solar-to-thermal conversion. Performance varied with brine composition. Current company marketing simplifies this to roughly two times evaporation and mineral production, but no disclosed commercial tonnage verifies a universal doubling of lithium output.
SOSV and 2026 reporting describe Lilypad as entering an industrial-scale or active-production environment in Chile. The operator, site area, deployment duration, and resulting lithium tonnage were not disclosed. SmartPond was also being tested in Chile, while E-LiTE’s stated greater-than-90% lithium recovery, 80% freshwater recovery, and energy savings remained development claims rather than audited commercial outcomes.
The company announced $16 million in combined equity and non-dilutive funding in August 2026. Public records support an $11 million Series A, $1.555 million NSF SBIR Fast-Track award, and $3.1 million ARPA-E award, plus New Jersey grants. Funding and deployment milestones indicate technical progress but do not establish lifecycle impact or commercial unit economics.
More output from existing ponds
Lilypad can be installed on operating evaporation ponds to accelerate concentration without requiring an entirely new pond complex.
Field-tested solar evaporation
Northern Chile pilots with SQM reported evaporation gains ranging from 40% to 122%, with performance varying by brine composition.
Integrated pond intelligence
SmartPond combines sensors, drone surveys, and predictive models to improve pond monitoring and mineral-transfer decisions.
Pathway for dilute and waste brines
E-LiTE is being developed to recover lithium and magnesium from low-concentration sources, including oil-and-gas produced water.
Locations
